sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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(b)
For Latin America and the Caribbean, the Doha Round must be concluded to expand
market access
Measures must be taken to eliminate the unfavourable tariff treatment of higher-value-added
products and the trade-distorting agricultural subsidies in industrialized countries. This would create fairer
conditions for competition for developing countries. For their part, the latter should develop national
agricultural sustainability agendas to ensure that expanded production —in response to the reduction of
distortions in developed countries— does as little environmental damage as possible. The Latin American
and Caribbean countries need to act in a coordinated manner in adopting carbon-footprint-related trade
rules, within the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and the principle that trade policy
measures for environmental purposes should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable
discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade. Unilateral actions to deal with
environmental challenges outside the jurisdiction of the importing country should be avoided. 10 The
region must, as well, try to develop a broader range of low-carbon transport options in order to minimize
the risk of its exports suffering discrimination, especially in industrialized countries. The Aid-for-Trade
Initiative could provide some leverage in this regard (see chapter V).
(c)
Consistency must be ensured between efforts to develop a global partnership for <strong>development</strong>
(Millennium Development Goal 8) and the negotiations and commitments undertaken in
international forums (on trade, climate, environment and finance, among others)
Multilateral financial institutions should be moving in the same direction, with the incorporation
of environmental and health considerations into their operations (whether by means of regulations or by
the inclusion of those costs). This would allow a more accurate economic value to be assigned to
investments that have greater or lesser impact, with the result that their economic viability would
gradually be brought into line with their environmental performance. In order to accomplish this, the
directives or signals that financial institutions receive from country representatives need to be consistent.
Just as importantly, the same type of policy coherence is required from the United Nations system, the
Bretton Woods system, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and regional banks.
(d)
Changes must be made to the international governance for <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> so that
there is greater consistency among organizations working in <strong>development</strong> and associated
with various international agreements
The agreements arising from Rio+<strong>20</strong> regarding the institutional framework for <strong>sustainable</strong>
<strong>development</strong> must ensure better coordination between the institutions of the United Nations system
associated with the three pillars of <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong>.
Both the concept of <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong> and the mechanisms for putting it into practice must
be mainstreamed in all bodies of the United Nations system.
Progress must also be made in creating synergies between the conventions on <strong>development</strong>,
aiming for greater convergence between agendas so that parties can participate effectively, and joint
secretariats could be considered in cases where economies of scale may be possible. Examples in this
regard include the decision made by the Basel, Stockholm and Rotterdam conventions on chemical
products to cooperate and coordinate with one another and share services in areas such as administration
and finance, information and dissemination, and legal matters. It has been suggested that the three
conventions should hold simultaneous meetings.
10
Principle 12 of the Rio Declaration.