Sustainable Development meeting a \'disappointment\'

According to an eGovMonitor report, Ban said that there was an urgent need to treat these major global challenges in concert. He called for greater unified efforts that would create benefits on all fronts. Full eGovMonitor report

However, the meeting was not hailed as a resounding success, E-Brief News notes. EU officials voiced their disappointment and frustration that the conference had not made progress in working out solutions to address the urgent problem of climate change. Commissioner for Environment in the European Commission, Stavros Ditmas, said that little progress has been made in dealing with the issues of energy efficacies, air pollution and poverty reduction. Other participants – particularly the Norwegians – said that a climate of distrust had developed at the conference, particularly between the developed countries and the economic group – the G77 and China – comprising mainly developing and underdeveloped countries, Jurnalo.com reports. In addition, The Observer reports, the CSD\'s session came under attack for its scripted speeches and inability to find common targets for green policies. The conference was brought to an end with no consensus after the 25-member EU refused to approve a paper that included no concrete measures. Full Jurnalo.com report Full report in The Observer

One of the most controversial aspects of the meeting was the appointment of Zimbabwean Minister of Environment and Tourism Francis Nhema to the position of chairperson of the Commission of Sustainable Development. The rotating chair was to be occupied by a nominee from African region and Zimbabwe was chosen as their representative by the African countries, reports AllHeadlineNews. However, citing Zimbabwe\'s current economic crisis, several diplomats, including those from the EU and the US, had vehemently advocated against its candidacy. Meanwhile, Nhema\'s \'green\' credentials have been brought into question. He allegedly had seized a productive farm that has now become a desert, according to The Sunday Independent. The farm used to produce 100ha of maize, 100ha of tobacco and supported a top-class animal husbandry unit of beef cattle, pigs and sheep. It now stands deserted, unproductive and undeveloped. Full AllHeadlineNews report Full report in The Sunday Independent

In a paper submitted to the CSD sessions, the CSD NGO Energy and Climate Change Caucus and the NGO Transport Caucus jointly proposed the establishment of a new temporary UN agency, the International Sustainable Energy Organisation (ISEO). The proposed primary function of the ISEO would include: assisting countries in identifying and phasing out government subsidies for unsustainable forms of energy; assisting countries in integrating external costs in energy policy and decisions; and fund conservation and sustainable energy programmes in developing countries and assisting these countries to diversify into sustainable forms of energy. The Asian Tribune notes that various Western industrialised countries called for an increasingly significant role for the UN in terms of environmental protection and for the establishment of a UN Environment Organisation. However, most developing countries have expressed their reservation over the creation of another bureacracy in the UN system. Full Asian Tribune report