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PLENARY

CSD Chair Klaus T”pfer welcomed the delegates to the second day of the High-Level Segment. Country statements continued, however, T”pfer asked delegates to focus on the issues that had been scheduled for discussion: finance issues during the morning and consumption and production patterns and trade and the environment during the afternoon. To facilitate discussion, he invited delegates to raise both hands if they wanted to respond to any intervention. Despite his plea, no discussion ensued.

JAPAN: Ichiro Kamoshita, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Environment, noted that the measures that have been taken as a result of the UNCED process have been of a curative nature, and the root of these problems must now be addressed. Japan will restructure its own socio-economic system, so that future generations may inherit favorable environmental conditions.

SRI LANKA: Wimal Wickramasinghe, Minister of Environment and Parliamentary Affairs, stated that the CSD process has not met expectations. He called for linkages and cooperation between all international institutions. He also proposed that the CSD be empowered with financial and technical resources and a desk officer for each country.

CZECH REPUBLIC: Deputy Minister of Environment Vladislav Bizek noted that unsustainable patterns of consumption and production are at the core of global environmental problems. He offered to organize an intersessional meeting on economic instruments for sustainable development.

AUSTRIA: Maria Rauch-Kallat, Federal Minister for Environment, Youth and Family, noted the importance of timely and manageable information, the need to find reliable indicators, and the advisability of a regional approach to work. She said that meetings sponsored by governments are the best forum for innovative and creative thinking, and warned against the proliferation of working groups.

BURKINA FASO: Prosper Sawadogo, Permanent Secretary of the NEAP, stated the need to put into effect the activities that have been agreed upon. He emphasized the need to integrate the issues of financial resources, technology access and capacity-building.

PAKISTAN: Begum Nusrat Bhutto, Special Representative, noted the importance of the issues of lead poisoning and freshwater. She stated that the paucity of financial resources is a major obstacle. She called for global action to implement international conventions and to ensure financial and technical assistance.

CANADA: Clifford Lincoln, Deputy Prime Minister, stated the need to be creative, pragmatic and pro-active. He noted that to achieve the agenda for sustainable development, the CSD must not be the home of the converted, but should attract finance and economic ministers.

POLAND: Bernard Blaszczyk, Minister of Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry, said that unemployment has delayed his nation's sustainable development policies. He announced that Poland will co-sponsor with UNEP a "cleaner production" symposium.

OECD: Deputy-Secretary-General, Makoto Taniguchi, noted four critical areas in which the OECD is undertaking major work or is willing to do more: consumption and production patterns; trade and environment; national reporting; and finance and resource flows.

FRANCE: Minister of the Environment, Michel Barnier, stated that to keep the CSD from becoming a paper tiger it needs to take specific action. He noted that action is happening at the international, regional and national levels and called attention to the Desertification Convention.

BARBADOS: Harcourt Lewis, Minister for the Environment, noted that the momentum of Rio has faltered and that there is a great difference of views between the North and South. He stated that the Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States represents a significant attempt to translate Agenda 21 into practical actions.

SWEDEN: Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources, Olof Johansson, said that almost three hundred municipalities are at work to enact Agenda 21 in Sweden. He suggested that the CSD show these locally active people what is being done at the international level, and proposed the preparation of a fact sheet.

KOREA: Yun-Heun Park, Minister for Environment, stated that trade and the environment should be mutually supportive in the pursuit of sustainable development. The CSD should play an important role on these issues by providing guidelines for relevant international organizations.

ISRAEL: Amb. Israel Eliashiv noted that Agenda 21 opened new vistas for achieving the objective of sustainable development. He said that solutions are only viable if they are put into effect on a global scale. He emphasized the importance of regional cooperation, citing the Mediterranean Action Plan as an example.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF CONSUMER UNIONS: Maria-Elena Hurtado stated that the CSD should take leadership in coordinating international financial institutions on trade and environment issues. She encouraged the CSD to carry out assessments of the environmental impacts of the banks' structural adjustment programmes.

BAHAMAS: Ivy Dumont, Minister of Health and Environment, called for the protection of land, water resources and human resources. She noted that poverty and environmental degradation have a symbiotic relationship. She stated that the promotion of health and the prevention of disease must command global attention.

CHINA: China noted that the new global partnership requires developed countries to fully implement their UNCED commitments. He asked how trade and technology transfer can broaden the number of countries that urgently need these products. He noted that developed countries account for 25% of the world's population yet consume 75% of the world's resources.

NORWAY: The Minister of the Environment, Thorbj"rn Bernsten, noted that production and consumption must be sustainable at the global level and must be based on the polluter-pays principle. He recommended that a CO2 tax be implemented.

PHILIPPINES: Cielito Habito, the Secretary for Social Economic Planning, noted that more economic and development ministers must participate in the CSD process. The Philippines will host a meeting on the economics of sustainability this July, which will focus on indicators.

INDONESIA: Mr. Sarwonon Kusumaatmadja, Minister of Environment, noted that changing consumption patterns will require a multi-pronged strategy focusing on demand, meeting the basic needs of the poor and reducing waste. Indonesia is supporting a conference on sustainable forest management in preparation for next year's CSD session.

EGYPT: Mostafa Tolba questioned the authority of the CSD, and asked how it could become a powerful forum. He suggested that the CSD use this opportunity to have a real dialogue regarding what can be done to make this a political forum instead of just a talking shop. He stated the need for targets, asking what developed countries are working toward with respect to their consumption patterns. Tolba also noted that there is no reference in the texts to the next two major conferences -- the Social Summit and the International Conference on Population and Development.

SINGAPORE: Mah Bow Tan, Minister for the Environment, noted that it is a paradox that technology, which has caused much environmental degradation, can also be used to reverse this degradation. Technology transfer needs partnerships between developing and developed countries and private industries.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION: The Russian delegate noted that the CSD is undergoing a difficult transition stage. He supported the proposal for two expert groups with renewable mandates and said that the effectiveness of their work will depend on the detailed technological work done on the different sectoral issues.

BELGIUM: The Belgium delegate noted that production and consumption patterns and trade and the environment are the cornerstones of sustainable development. These are complex issues and consequently progress will be slow. He discussed the use of taxes and called for a CO2 tax.

ICELAND: The representative noted the importance of convincing consumers of the impact of their decisions, and called for education and economic instruments to assist in this. The production and consumption patterns of women are also important, and their roles must be integrated into sustainable development policies.

URUGUAY: Julio Balino, Vice Minister, told delegates about measures his country has taken to implement Agenda 21. He identified the transfer of environmentally sound technology and changes in consumption patterns as essential issues.

BULGARIA: Jordan Uzunov, Deputy Minister of the Environment, stated that the success of Agenda 21 will depend on action taken primarily at the national level. He reported that, in implementing his nation's environmental programmes, efficiency has been improved by involving local communities.

TANZANIA: The Tanzanian delegate stated that action is the mandate of this Commission and that it must move from the role of consensus builder to agent of change. He noted that financial flows and arrangements remain inadequate and consumption and production patterns remain an issue on which little action has been taken.

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