CITING constraints posed to sustainable development on the
continent by the global financial crisis, migration, rapid urbanisation,
energy and food crises, low resistance to natural disasters,
desertification and the loss of the eco-system caused by climate change,
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday charged the developed countries
of the World to increase their aid overtures to African nations.
The President gave the charge at the plenary session of the on-going United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
President Jonathan also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to achieving sustainable development in Nigeria by creating jobs in the country.
According to the President, “in our sustainable development agenda, under our medium to long-term National Plans, we have developed several sectoral initiatives, particularly in agriculture, petroleum, solid minerals, power supply, renewable energy, trade and investment, water and sanitation, which accord priority to environmental and wider development issues.
“Our goal is simple: Create more jobs and opportunities for our people to rise out of poverty, create wealth to ensure sustainable development.”
Meanwhile, with deliberations by world leaders entering a second day at the summit, arguments have continued over the details and modes of implementation of the agreed Rio+20 document, just as Non-governmental organisations continue to pressure the leaders to reopen the text and provide concrete timelines for reaching targets.
Nigeria was at the forefront of the battle to ensure that targets and other stifling conditions were not imposed by developed countries on developing ones, in the push for ‘green economy.’
One of Nigeria’s negotiators, Osita Anaedu, told The Guardian that the country pushed vigorously that ‘green economy’ be adopted as “a tool” for achieving sustainable development.
The push for ‘green economy’ was one of the most contentious issues during the negotiations, with many developing countries expressing concern that it would come with burdensome conditions in the areas of trade and development aid.
The mood within the African delegation was one of unfinished business, as far as the means of implementation were concerned,
according to the Congolese Minister for Sustainable Development, Henri Djombo.
He stressed that Africa was clearly not satisfied with the way means of implementation had been treated in the current text, although it would go along with the outcome document.
Djombo said that all along, African countries within the G-7 and China had insisted that renewed political commitment to sustainable development was necessary, but that it should be “accompanied with a detailed identification of gaps in means of implementation, especially with regards to the green economy.”
Also, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Precious Gbeneol, has stressed the importance of placing poverty reduction at the heart of efforts to develop a new global development agenda.
Gbeneol made this assertion at the ongoing Rio summit.
According to a statement by the Deputy Director of Information, Mrs. K.N Offie, Gbeneol, argued that the world must integrate the three pillars of development into one new whole.
She stated that a robust post-MDGs development frame-work that integrates the social, economic and environmental dimensions must be critically considered in order to produce a global development agenda that is equitable, practical, inclusive and universally acceptable.
Four countries have joined forces in a unique initiative committing to corporate sustainability reporting in support of Paragraph 47 of the Rio+20 outcome document.
Brazil, Denmark, France and South Africa are forming a group of ‘friends of paragraph 47’ to advance corporate sustainability reporting.
To that effect, they have invited Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to support them.
They envision that corporate transparency and accountability are key elements to enhancing the private sector’s contribution to sustainable development.
Making sustainability reporting standard practice among companies will aid monitoring the impacts on and the contribution to sustainable development by the corporate world.
The President gave the charge at the plenary session of the on-going United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
President Jonathan also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to achieving sustainable development in Nigeria by creating jobs in the country.
According to the President, “in our sustainable development agenda, under our medium to long-term National Plans, we have developed several sectoral initiatives, particularly in agriculture, petroleum, solid minerals, power supply, renewable energy, trade and investment, water and sanitation, which accord priority to environmental and wider development issues.
“Our goal is simple: Create more jobs and opportunities for our people to rise out of poverty, create wealth to ensure sustainable development.”
Meanwhile, with deliberations by world leaders entering a second day at the summit, arguments have continued over the details and modes of implementation of the agreed Rio+20 document, just as Non-governmental organisations continue to pressure the leaders to reopen the text and provide concrete timelines for reaching targets.
Nigeria was at the forefront of the battle to ensure that targets and other stifling conditions were not imposed by developed countries on developing ones, in the push for ‘green economy.’
One of Nigeria’s negotiators, Osita Anaedu, told The Guardian that the country pushed vigorously that ‘green economy’ be adopted as “a tool” for achieving sustainable development.
The push for ‘green economy’ was one of the most contentious issues during the negotiations, with many developing countries expressing concern that it would come with burdensome conditions in the areas of trade and development aid.
The mood within the African delegation was one of unfinished business, as far as the means of implementation were concerned,
according to the Congolese Minister for Sustainable Development, Henri Djombo.
He stressed that Africa was clearly not satisfied with the way means of implementation had been treated in the current text, although it would go along with the outcome document.
Djombo said that all along, African countries within the G-7 and China had insisted that renewed political commitment to sustainable development was necessary, but that it should be “accompanied with a detailed identification of gaps in means of implementation, especially with regards to the green economy.”
Also, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Precious Gbeneol, has stressed the importance of placing poverty reduction at the heart of efforts to develop a new global development agenda.
Gbeneol made this assertion at the ongoing Rio summit.
According to a statement by the Deputy Director of Information, Mrs. K.N Offie, Gbeneol, argued that the world must integrate the three pillars of development into one new whole.
She stated that a robust post-MDGs development frame-work that integrates the social, economic and environmental dimensions must be critically considered in order to produce a global development agenda that is equitable, practical, inclusive and universally acceptable.
Four countries have joined forces in a unique initiative committing to corporate sustainability reporting in support of Paragraph 47 of the Rio+20 outcome document.
Brazil, Denmark, France and South Africa are forming a group of ‘friends of paragraph 47’ to advance corporate sustainability reporting.
To that effect, they have invited Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to support them.
They envision that corporate transparency and accountability are key elements to enhancing the private sector’s contribution to sustainable development.
Making sustainability reporting standard practice among companies will aid monitoring the impacts on and the contribution to sustainable development by the corporate world.
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