171
Developments since 1984
171
vide appropriate tools to assist countries in this regard. UNSD’s efforts, in collaboration with
UNEP, to strengthen environmental information, data and indicators, were deemed important.
The document also emphasized the embedding of geospatial information in environment sta
tistics. In short, the results of the outcome document were extremely positive with regard to
acknowledging the need to strengthen the production of environment statistics.
B.8.
Advancing the conceptual aspects of sustainable development has provided additional
motivation to assess the progress and implementation gaps in meeting previously agreed com
mitments and addressing new and emerging challenges. In this regard, the renewed call for
political commitment to this concept at Rio+20 offered strong backing for developing sustain
able development policies.
B.9.
The Samoa Pathway, the outcome document of the Third International Conference
on SIDS 126 includes a section on data and statistics that specifically mentions the work of the
international statistical community. In this regard, the importance of strengthening national
statistical systems to face the challenge of increased demands for data is evident. The document
recognized that improved data collection and statistical analysis are required to enable SIDS to
effectively plan, follow up on, evaluate the implementation of and track successes in attaining
the internationally agreed develcopment goals.
B.10.
These clear policy positions on sustainable development, taken after the publication of
the FDES in 1984, have had direct relevance to the area of environment statistics. It is critical
to take them into consideration in this revision, as the concept of sustainable development has
played a defining role in helping to coalesce thinking around well-defined and representative
goals regarding the state of the environment. This concept of sustainable development under
scores the point that the environment must be conserved, while ensuring the economic and
social well-being of the world’s human population. Adequate response to these initiatives has
contributed significantly to defining the statistical needs in this area. Any subsequent con
ceptual approaches to describing the environment must respond to them and enable a better
understanding of environmental sustainability, contribute to assessment and support decision-
making.
B.11.
Twenty-two years after Rio and approximately 30 years after the original FDES, the
environment statistics community faces a new opportunity to strengthen methodology in the
area of environment statistics, while policy-driven processes can support and strengthen offi
cial environment statistics programmes at the national, regional and global levels.
Climate change
B.12.
According to prevailing climate change science, human activity, particularly the burn
ing of fossil fuels, has made the blanket of GHGs around the earth “thicker”.127 The UNFCCC
has affirmed that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time.128 The world’s cli
mate is changing and will continue to change at rates unprecedented in recent human history.
The impacts and risks associated with these changes are already happening in many systems
and sectors essential for human livelihood, including water resources, food security, coastal
zones and health. Adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change is vital to reduce current
and future impacts. In this context, there is an urgent need for an integrated policy response
to the climate change and development challenge.
B.13.
The Kyoto Protocol emerged from the UNFCCC. It is an international agreement whose
major feature is setting binding targets to reduce GHG emissions (as of mid-2011) for 37 indus
trialized countries and the European community. Unlike the UNFCCC, it provides binding
targets rather than encouraging signatories to attain these goals. The Kyoto mechanisms have
been designed to:
126 United Nations Conference on
Small Island Developing States,
“The Samoa Pathway”, available
from www.sids2014.org/index
.php?menu=1537 (accessed
4 August 2017).
127 United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change,
“Climate Change Information
Sheet 1”, available from http://
unfccc.int/cop3/fccc/climate
/fact01.htm (accessed 4 August
2017).
128 United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change
(2011). “Report of the Conference
of the Parties on its sixteenth
session”, held in Cancun from 29
November to 10 December 2010,
available from http://unfccc
.int/resource/docs/2010/cop16
/eng/07a01.pdf (accessed
4 August 2017).
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) 172 i. Stimulate sustainable development through technology transfer and investment; ii. Help countries with Kyoto commitments to meet their targets by reducing emis sions or removing carbon from the atmosphere in other countries in a cost-effec tive way; and iii. Encourage the private sector and developing countries to contribute to emission reduction efforts. B.14. The complexity of the climate system means that predictions vary widely, but even minimal changes in forecasts could mean frequently flooded coastlines, disruptions to food and water supplies and the extinction of many species. Accordingly, parties are required to undertake efforts to: i. Mitigate climate change, stabilizing GHG concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system; ii. Reduce GHG emissions; iii. Enhance action on adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change. This is vital to reduce the current impacts of climate change and increase resilience in the face of future impacts; and iv. Promote and cooperate in research and systematic observations of the climate system, including through support to existing international programmes and net works. B.15. Due to the complexity of the driving forces and the direct and indirect impacts of cli mate change, most domains of environment statistics are relevant to climate change statistics. Therefore, there is increased demand for environment statistics that can be used to monitor, at different scales, the stages and sequences of climate change, such as contributing emissions, mitigation, impact and adaptation. NSOs around the world find it difficult to provide this type of information. Clear inter-institutional cooperation and new resources are needed to produce climate change statistics on a timely basis that are nationally and globally relevant. Monitoring the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) B.16. In 2000, the Millennium Summit of the United Nations was held in New York. At this Summit, world leaders adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which includes a statement of values, principles and objectives for the international agenda for the twenty- first century and sets deadlines for many collective actions. The framework for monitoring MDGs is intended as a tool to follow up on the Millennium Declaration. As a framework to monitor progress on meeting internationally agreed targets and goals by 2015, it reflects the global consensus over a wide range of development challenges, including those related to the environment. It comprises eight goals that are, in turn, composed of targets and specific indicators to monitor progress towards each of the agreed targets. Goal 7: Ensure environ mental sustainability, can be monitored through its four targets and 10 indicators. Of those, only two indicators have a quantifiable target to be achieved by 2015. National, regional and global reporting on the progress measured by these 10 indicators has increased, but data gaps and discrepancies among national and international sources have persisted, particularly with regard to this goal. The MDG indicator framework is policy driven and its purpose is to moni tor progress in achieving targets.
173 Developments since 1984 173 Emergence of the SDGs, targets and indicators to guide the post-2015 development agenda B.17. At Rio+20, governments agreed to launch a process to develop a set of SDGs. They asked that an Open Working Group (OWG) of 30 elected UN Member States be created to develop a proposal for SDGs through an inclusive and transparent intergovernmental process open to all stakeholders. The Member States decided to use an innovative, constituency-based system of representation that was new to bodies with limited membership. Thus, most of the OWG seats were shared by several countries working together through 13 sessions. On 19 July 2014, the OWG completed its mandate at the final formal session by adoption by acclamation, the OWG final outcome proposal containing the Chapeau and the proposed 17 goals and 169 targets, including 62 targets on means of implementation. The OWG adopted its outcome proposal, the Proposal of the Open Working Group for Sustainable Development Goals, by acclamation. The proposal was submitted to the UNGA for consideration and appropriate action at its 69th session. At the point of submission to the UNGA, no indicators had been proposed. However, once they have been identified, systematic data production and collection for these indicators will have to be established or strengthened within national statistical systems. B.18. Of the 17 goals proposed by the OWG, the ones that are directly related to the environ ment are as follows: • Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all; • Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all; • Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; • Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns; • Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts; • Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development; and • Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land deg radation and halt biodiversity loss. B.19. The SDG and targets are contained in the document “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Outcome Document for the UN Summit to Adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Draft for Adoption”. This outcome document was final ized in 31 July 2015 during the last round of intergovernmental negotiations in New York. The document consists of a preamble and an introduction, the SDGs proposal containing goals and targets, a section on means of implementation and global partnership, and a section describing the follow-up and review process. It is expected that the SDGs will be formally approved in the UN Summit to adopt the post-2015 Development Agenda (25-27 September 2015), which will be convened as a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly. Beyond GDP, green economy and green growth B.20. Developments related to environment statistics also involved the creation, in early 2008, of the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission. It was set up to address issues related to the measure ment of economic performance and social progress. A central underlying assumption and motive was the recognition that the best known measure of economic activity, GDP, was not a sufficient and appropriate guide for modern policymaking to address social and environmental objectives. One of the recommendations of The Stiglitz Report 129 proposed that the environ mental aspects of sustainability deserve a separate follow-up based on a well-chosen set of physical indicators. In particular, there is a need for a clear indicator of the earth’s proximity 129 Stiglitz, Joseph, The Stiglitz Report: Reforming the International Monetary and Financial Systems in the Wake of the Global Crisis, New York, The New Press, 2010.
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) 174 to dangerous levels of environmental damage, such as those associated with climate change or the depletion of fishing stocks. This further underscored the need for a responsive environment statistics framework. B.21. Two other concepts, the “green economy” and “green growth”, complement the concept of sustainable development. A green economy improves human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. It is characterized by low environmental risks (e.g., low carbon), social inclusiveness and resource efficiency. The core of this initiative involves stimulating investment in green sectors of the economy, while ameliorating those sectors that are environmentally unsustainable. According to UNEP, “A green economy can be defined as an economy that results in improved human well-being and reduced inequalities over the long term, while not exposing future generations to significant environmental risks and ecological scarcities.”130 A green economy “is characterized by sub stantially increased investments in economic sectors that build on and enhance the earth’s natural capital or reduce ecological scarcities and environmental risks. These investments and policy reforms provide the mechanisms and the financing for the reconfiguration of businesses, infrastructure and institutions and the adoption of sustainable consumption and production processes. Such reconfiguration leads to a higher share of green sectors contributing to GDP, greener jobs, lower energy and resource intensive production, lower waste and pollution and significantly lower GHG emissions.”131 Targeted efforts and policies in a green economy must be geared towards reducing environmental risks and scarcities, while ensuring compatibil ity with reducing global poverty and social inequity. For example, in pursuing investment in renewable energy, care must be taken to ensure access to clean and affordable energy. B.22. Specific indicators to measure the green economy have not yet been identified or agreed upon, but work in this area involving UNEP, OECD and the World Bank suggests that they will encompass the following broad areas: i. Economic indicators: for example, share of investments or the share of output and employment in sectors that meet a sustainability standard, such as green GDP; ii. Environmental indicators: for example, resource use efficiency or pollution intensity at either the sectoral or economy-wide level, such as, energy use/GDP, or water use/GDP; and iii. Aggregate indicators of progress and well-being: for example, macroeconomic aggregates to reflect natural capital depreciation, including integrated environ mental and economic accounting, or broader interpretations of well-being beyond the narrow definition of GDP per capita. B.23. “Green growth” expresses a different but related concept. According to the OECD, “green growth is about fostering economic growth and development while ensuring that the natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which our well-being relies” and it emphasizes that “it must catalyse investment and innovation which will underpin sustained growth and give rise to new economic opportunities.” 132 OECD had proposed a complete set of indicators, including headline indicators in 2014.133 They are struc tured with a measurement framework that includes the following categories: i. Indicators for monitoring the environmental and resource productivity of the economy; ii. Indicators describing the natural asset base; iii. Indicators monitoring the environmental dimension of quality of life; and iv. Indicators describing policy responses and economic opportunities. 130 United Nations Environment Programme (2012). “Measuring Progress Towards an Inclusive Green Economy”, available from www.unep.org/greeneconomy /sites/unep.org.greeneconomy /files/publications/measuring _progress_report.pdf (accessed 4 August 2017). 131 United Nations Environment Programme. “Green Economy Report: A Preview”, available from www.unep.ch/etb /publications/Green%20 Economy/GER%20Preview%20 v2.0.pdf (accessed 4 August 2017). 132 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2014). “OECD Green Growth Studies: Green Growth Indicators 2014”, available from www .oecd.org/greengrowth/ greengrowthindicators.htm (accessed 4 August 2017). 133 Ibid.