Report of RIO+20 Preparatory Conference of Civil Society and Trade Unions in Africa Held on March 29-30, 2012 Nairobi, Kenya

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1 Report of RIO+20 Preparatory Conference of Civil Society and Trade Unions in Africa Held on March 29-30, 2012 Nairobi, Kenya Brief Introduction/Background The RIO+20 preparatory process continues to move forward, with delegates holding back-toback meetings in different parts of the world to negotiate the outcomes document for June s conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD). However, observers noted afterwards that there has been little convergence of negotiating positions so far, despite the UN summit drawing even nearer. The June 2012 Conference marks 20 years since the landmark 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Despite a slow initial uptake, the Rio+20 conference is beginning to gather steam, with over 100 heads of states having confirmed their attendance. The meeting s objectives is to secure renewed commitment to sustainable development and to meet new and emerging challenges by focusing on the following themes: the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty reduction; and the institutional framework for sustainable development. RIO+20 Preparatory conference of Civil Society and Trade Unions in Africa were held on March 29-30, 2012 in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting was jointly organized by Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Kenya and United Nations Environmental Programme. The meeting was attended by about 30 participant from the CSOs and the Trade unions from around Africa (see annex list of participants). The conference focused on two key issues, i.e. green economy and the international environmental governance. Specific objectives were geared to: Establish and strengthen a dialogue between Civil Society and Policy-making at the regional level. The regional conferences are to give the civil society actors the opportunity to present their ideas of sustainability as well as their specific positions on key topics of Rio+20 and discuss these with representatives from research and policymaking. Key topics of the Rio summit are to be discussed and regional positions formulated at the conferences. Forward regional positions at the level of the international negotiations. One to two representatives from each of the regional preparatory conferences should meet on the periphery of the RIO+20 Summit in Rio to hold a final conference. They should act both as information brokers and mouthpieces. The major documents that were considered during the conference included The Future We Want (UNCSD), Zero-draft ), the African Consensus Statement, the background report Means of Implementation by UNECA for the Preparatory Conference in Addis Ababa, the Africa Review Report on Progress towards Sustainable Development- Summary Report (UNECA, October7, 2011), and various statements of African Major Groups (UNEP) 1 P a g e

2 SESSION 1 a) Welcome remarks by Dr. Peter Oesterdiekhoff, Resident Representative, FES Kenya The launch session was addressed by Dr. Peter Oesterdiekhoff. In his opening remarks Dr. Oesterdiekhoff mentioned that the meeting takes place three (3) months before the RIO+20 summits which is a crucial global convention for many years. He informed the meeting that there have been various preparatory activities since the beginning of 2011 that stepped up the momentum towards the RIO+20 summits. This particular conference focused on regional perspectives on Civil Society perspectives. Being environmentally exposed, the African continent needs to have a particular interest in the themes of the RIO summit. The success of this summit obliges all countries to have a stake in the conference outcome, by looking holistically at issues including climate change, energy access, food security, natural disasters, migration, and others. More notably in his speech, there is a general consensus on the need to ensure integration of these three objectives of the RIO+20 Conference including securing renewed political commitment to sustainable development, assessing the progress and implementation gaps in meeting already agreed commitments and addressing new and emerging challenges. The debate on a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication stressed the need for a new paradigm for economic growth, reflecting social, distributional and environmental dimensions. MODERATOR/FACILITATOR: Alexander Juras, UNEP b) Welcome remarks by Jiri Hlavacek, Deputy Director, Division of Regional Cooperation, UNEP He noted that UNEP is among few international entities that have participated and prepared for RIO+20 summit set to take place in June, UNEP is thinking of actively involving all stakeholders and influencing the positions of governments. It has therefore requested the governments to include all stakeholders in their delegations to RIO+20 in order to have more ownership. The 54 African countries can be considered to play a very important political role in the adoption of decisions being the creditor of the world in terms green economies and biodiversity. It is important the decisions of this forum focus on the commitments of African continent with important values such as democracy and good governance being prominent. This should be based on three pillars on sustainable development including good governance for sustainable development. Thus, in order to realize the equal distribution of the benefits of green economy, social justice has been included as one the components of the RIO+20 high level meeting. Of importance, this meeting was to promote the role of civil society and trade unions to influence the outcome of the RIO+20. c) Welcome remarks by Yahya Msangi, ITUC Africa He noted that the outcome of the conference is meant to feed to the RIO+20 negotiations which are essential and a multi stakeholder approach is essential. This should be included in the official negotiations group which calls for the revision of the state of affairs. In brief, his views were based on three issues: i. Meaningful participation of civil societies in the RIO+20 processes 2 P a g e

3 ii. Consensus on the Green Economy concept and International environmental governance (IEG) iii. Three pillars on sustainable Development. Key in his speech was the meaningful participation of the CSOs and TU as major groups (MGs) in the formal negotiating process of the RIO+20 zero draft. Among the principles that governments may sunset as agreed upon in 1992 include: Polluter pays principle and the precautionary Principle. He urged the Major Groups (MGs) to reaffirm their positions in the international environmental governance as debated in the UNEP GC meeting since African countries are the majority. In terms of what the African CSOs needs to see in terms of the 4 th pillar to achieve much at RIO+20, the following were the proposals. a. Hold more consultations with a multi stakeholder approach to reflect the views and aspirations of all in the African Consensus statement. b. CSOs to meet prior to the RIO+20 to feed into the formal negotiations process. He urged UNEP to support the Major Groups to ensure the CSOs add value to the RIO+ 20 meeting. UNEP pledged to offer to facilitate access to decision makers and work at a national level especially with governments and country negotiators. There will be more information flow between governments and their missions in New York. Introduction to the Event and expectation Facilitator, Alexander Juras, United Nations Development Programme (UNEP) This session set the stage and outlined the expectations from the meeting, and provided the background information on the process and opportunities for engagement into the RIO+20 processes. This was to ensure that all the participants are on the same level of understanding of the process and issues. The session formed two working groups with two facilitators to hammer out the main messages on both the green economy and institutional framework for sustainable development. At the end of the discussions, the working groups would come up with five (5) key messages to give to the Rio+20. The information was to later be distributed through UNEP and FES websites and the outcomes being distributed to other forums to a wider stakeholder mass. Presentation Short overview of the RIO+20 By Alexander Jura, United Nations Development Programme (UNEP) The presentation was based on the Road to Rio from 1992 to 2012, RIO+20 as an important turning point, the role of UNEP and the civil society. He also highlighted some upcoming key official events, key events in the next three months and useful links to these events. The Nairobi event should contribute enormously towards the RIO_20 just as other complementary events have been. Many stakeholders will participate in RIO+20 (Trade unions, CSOs, private sector, development partners, government delegations, youth, women groups, farmer representatives e.t.c) and will use this occasion to build their capacity on green economy issues. UNEP has a role in focusing on green economy, international environmental governance and sustainable development. So far, UNEP has contributed to the process through meetings with CSOs and governments by keeping environmental issues high on the agenda. Background of 3 P a g e

4 environmental challenges and possible solutions has been shared with governments and other stakeholders by UNEP who also continue to work with other government agencies, Major Groups and stakeholders to provide more information and guidance. Deliberations from the Floor Civil society organizations and Trade Unions noted there is a lot of resistance on the green economy from Group of seventy seven countries (G77) but little resistance from African countries who are largely supporting it. Further, the African countries are calling for national and regional support from the international community to implement the green economy projects. They also support the upgrading of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) into a global environmental agency. With little time left to the Rio+20 conference in June, registration and accreditation of the CSOs is becoming a big challenge but there is still an opportunity for them to make an effective participation with UNEP assisting along. The government representation to the Rio+20 has been more profound and this will influence the outcome. There are technological developments and international trade aspects by bigger economies such as China and India which are making them skeptical about the green economy concept. CSOs noted that the role of the United States is missing as a major player on Climate change. The US are against the roadmap and are proposing joining without prescription and do not want to have a calendar on reduction of emissions and such are against such obligations and are pursuing these on a voluntary basis. Outstandingly, the US is not a signatory to the Kyoto protocol and other conventions on gas emissions but are strengthening UNEP and supporting the universal membership of the governing council. PRESENTATION 2: Presentation of the Outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) African Region Preparatory Process By Charles Akol, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) The presentation was based on the African regional preparatory process, the milestones, major findings (progress, opportunities and challenges), and the African Consensus statement with key messages to Rio+ 20 and beyond. Spearheaded by Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) jointly with the African Union Commission (AUC ) and African Development Bank (AfDB), in strong partnership with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), UNEP and United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the African regional preparatory process aims to guide and prepare African countries to collectively articulate their concerns and priorities at the conference; ensure these priorities are adequately reflected in the conference outcomes and strengthen regional consultative mechanism to support implementation of conference outcomes. Deliberations from the Floor: Trade unions are generally weak in engaging on issues of environment with most not actively involved in the RIO+20 preparatory processes. Therefore, there is need for exchange of contacts targeting the activities with the right groups in partnership with UNEP. This is because the CSOs and the Trade Unions have a critical role to play in disseminating information on green economy at a grass root level, building the capacity of their constituents on green economy. Involving women and the youth is 4 P a g e

5 5 P a g e also critical in the implementation of the Green Economy. They would also be in a position to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages/risks associate with the transition to the green economy in order to determine their contributions to poverty reduction, loss of competitiveness in select sectors, threat of green protectionism and trade distorting green subsidies using statistics. On the Africa Consensus Statement CSOs, Trade Unions and other major groups should find a feasible way of making their inputs before the Rio+20 meetings PRESENTATION 3: Presentation on green economy in the context of sustainable development By Kofi Vondolia, Economic Advisor, United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) The presentation gave an introduction to the green economy, policy recommendations under the green economy, opportunities offered and UNEP partnerships on a green economy. It also highlighted some selected green economy success stories in the world as best practices. Deliberations from the Floor: A cost benefit analysis is imperative in Africa before countries transform to green economy. Such an approach should be based on a country specific comparative advantage and engage the Green economy concept in a more factual base. UNEP plans to carry out the country specific analysis to assess the viability of Green Economy projects. In addition to this, it is important to have an impact analysis of the green economy projects conducted in Africa in order to identify both positive and negative effects and devise viable strategies to the green economy transformation. There are fears in Africa that the green economy concept is technologically dominated and promoting commercial interests of developed countries and multinational companies. Also, concerns have been raised that the Green economy might not achieve social equity but rather promote capitalism in the future. Therefore, it is important for African governments to play a role in ensuring smooth transition to the green economy. For instance, they should invest in soil fertility to improve small scale farmers production and improve their income levels. In addition to this, governments should play a role to convince the private sector to invest in renewable energy by providing them with an enabling investment environment. Green economy should ensure it keeps the global water uses within sustainable limits especially in water scarce economies. The Green Economy should ensure there is adequate technology transfer in Africa and investments should spur growth in African countries and support the small enterprises to adapt to the new technologies. Such technologies should impart skills to the laborers in the invested projects and also ensure protection of intellectual property rights and other innovations in the renewable energy. There is need to promote access to renewable energy and clean lighting in order to improve human capital that is engaged in labor market. Involvement of international financial institutions such as the World Bank, international monetary fund, International Finance Corporation is important to have sufficient funding for these projects. Nevertheless, liberalization of financial sector has led to profits repatriation and this should be prevented in the green economy transition. There is need for more negotiations based on research findings in order to arrive at a consensus on Green Economy. Issues of consent and messages in the negotiations should be shared with governments and their citizens.

6 In the transition to Green Economy, some spaces of land will be acquired signifying land loss to some, while there would be job creation and job losses. So, African governments must put in place right policies and laws to mitigate any negative effects anticipated in order to guarantee that the green economy projects will not be misusedd for investment gains by multinational companies and private investors. This calls for establishment of good governance structures in the transition and after the adoption of green economies. Corporate social responsibility would be one of the tools in the transition to green economy. At RIO+20, modalities of cooperation will involve all international bodies, governments and other relevant stakeholders. The acceptance of the green economy concept will be on a voluntary basis and it can be modified to their respective economies. DAY TWO: Presentation: The Reform of International Environmental Governance in the Context of Rio+20 By Juergen Friedrich, UNEP s Division of International Law and Conventions, UNEP His presentation focused on what governance structure to support a transition to a green economy and achievement of sustainable development. He also gave the rationale for international environmental governance, and talked about the need for international environmental governance reform, reform options for UNEP, advantages and disadvantages of the reform options and reform of commission on sustainable Development. Deliberations from the Floor Civil society organizations and trade unions should be incorporated in the implementation of various UNEP Programmes for inclusiveness and ownership. UNEP should become a more specialized organ with more financing through global financial environmental governance. UNEP could adopt the WTO structure of governance though without legal obligations to its members unlike the case for the WTO that uses the dispute settlement mechanisms. With such a proposed body, it is also important to protect public goods by the environmental bodies. It was noted that opening of ECOSOF would mean reopening the UN charter and this will impact on other charters in the UN system which is a sensitive issue. Therefore, integration of the environmental pillar should not be left to ECOSOC since other organs are also involved in environmental sustainability. SESSION SIX: GROUP SESSION Moderated by Alexander Juras, UNEP This session was to present the key messages from the drafting teams who had drafted from the two different groups. Question One: What do we see as people centered green economy? The group noted that a people centered/public oriented green economy should be more inclusive using the bottom up model to the grass root level without social exclusion. This makes it more accessible, affordable and eventually benefits the people and reduces poverty. Green economy should be viewed as transformative concept in production methods, exploration, production and consumption. 6 P a g e

7 Green economy should have a direct engagement in the decision making process in its transformation in order to make it more transparent based on the principle of equity and sustainability to empower communities. This can be achieved through social dialogues and accountability in the side of government. There is need to use different models and utilise what is workable in our respective countries. Elements of different economic models that should bring about change through empowering communities bring change and enhance knowledge on what to take. There should be clear policies to guide the operations of a green economy. These should guard against land grab, displacement of people from their lands and other natural resources such as water sources. In any case there is any displacement of people from their land; there should be alternative farm spaces for those affected; workers should be protected in their livelihoods and trained on using green economy technologies for easier adaptation. There is need to devise the right investment policies in the green economy in order to hold the multinational companies and investors accountable in case laws and regulations are violated. These policies should also be implemented in a manner that maximizes the benefits to African countries. Question 2: What do we need to block at international negotiations and what do we need to encourage? At international negotiations, there is need to block the dumping of technologies; any international agreements that are unfavourable to Africa; unfair business practices; dictatorial policies by international governments and organisations as well as privatisation of natural resources since they belong to the people. What we need to encourage On the other hand, there is need to encourage continuous education and training to the people in order for the green economy to be people centered. In addition, there is need to encourage multi-stakeholder approach that is more transparent and accountable, encourages partnerships between the governments, civil society and private sector through stronger communication of information. Further, government delegations need to be more open to critical engagement with the civil society in order to articulate more issues. Question Three: What do we need to do to ensure our governments take up our positions in RIO+20 and beyond? Leaders and governments must be able to commit to the Rio+20 processes by pronouncing financial resources needed to implement the Green economy projects; engage governments to increase its knowledge capacity in implementing green economy projects; create citizen forums on climate change; as well as engage actively at international level of negotiations. CSOs and trade unions must ensure that they are more coordinated before engaging with the government, be representative enough to have common agreements with the governments through dialogues with a follow up mechanism on recommendations. Other key entry points of deeper engagement are through parliamentary committees involved with natural resources and environmental issues in their respective countries. Trade unions need to ensure that governments put in place rules that protect the employment industry in terms of quality of workplace, employment rules and regulations, job decency, and creation of sustainable jobs. This could be achieved by 7 P a g e

8 educating the trade union members on the right policies to implement green economy projects. Key Messages 1. It is critical to deconstruct the concept of green economy in order to ensure ownership by the people, understand the key issues and how relevant they are to different sectors in the economy in the impression of social justice. 2. Promote life and healthy living (peace, nature, stability, promote life) as well as create opportunities that ensure level playing field, justice and fair play. 3. There is need for state obligation to facilitate green economy concept as opposed to private sector and competitiveness. Ensure legally binding outcomes after Rio+20 and outcomes implemented as opposed to just voluntary obligations. 4. The consensus document can be recalled and renegotiated to reflect the challenges facing Africa. It should be more inclusive and should connect with the reality of Africans. Group Session Two: Green Economy priorities, challenges and opportunities for Africa Challenges Challenges of implementing the green economy include; lack of awareness and clarity; how to overcome attitudinal change to adopt green economy; lack of resource capacity (economic human and technological); lack of platform for greater access to land tenure rights coupled with weak governance structures; costs of a transition/shift from current status quo to a green economy; skepticism around the green economy concept and who is driving the process. It is also challenging to implement green economy projects in most African countries due to accessibility and affordability of appropriate technologies, ownership and their patents. In addition, there is a challenge of balancing the capitalistic gains from green economy project and inequality in Africa since they are supposed to bridge the social inequality and reduce poverty. It is also not clear that they will eventually benefit the major sectors of the African economies such as the informal sector and agriculture. Implementing green economy project would essentially imply mainstreaming them into national and regional development strategies and this is lacking within the African continent. This is because the green economy should address the present challenges of water, energy, food security and unemployment in different African countries. Therefore, International organizations and governments have a role to play in coordinating and involving in the green economy transition by localizing the projects and mainstreaming them into national level. This could be achieved by providing policy direction, environmental legislation as well as financial resources. Opportunities There are a number of opportunities accrued by adopting green economy projects such as harnessing local capacity and local-level knowledge in the transition process; access to new appropriate and diversified technology leading to benefit sharing current existing technology (cost-benefit), up-skilling and creation of employment. The economic benefits would mean 8 P a g e

9 average increased GDP for African countries; develop and/or shift to a low carbon market; improved ecosystem services and benefits; a healthier (planetary) environment/world leading to improved livelihoods. Further, adaptation to more formal industry within African states could thus improving on the current reliance on the informal sector (formalization of the informal sector); increase research opportunities and development of relevant institutions and more public awareness across all sectors through various supporting mechanisms including the media and the civil society. Knowledge accumulated could link the traditional knowledge with future policy implementation and transition and since scarcity brings innovation, opportunities arise to develop new innovative ideas. Such lessons could therefore be learned from other countries that have embraced green economy. Key Messages Embed Good Governance as a fourth pillar in Green Economy, linked to a bottomup participatory approach Increased role of African governments in their steering towards a Green Economy not homogenous approach. This could be achieved by mainstreaming green economy into development plans, strategies and policies at national, regional and international levels. Serious commitment to implementation of the Green Economy by Africa with clear and verifiable indicators and defined road map integrating social and economic justice. Green Economy respects human rights and upholds the Rio 1992 principles: (a) Polluter pays principle (b) Precautionary principle (c) Common but differentiated responsibility Availability and access to appropriate technology is a must for transition to Green Economy inafrica Africa should insist on a rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable trading system, and reinvigorate multilateral trade negotiations to achieve a developmentorientated outcome of the Doha Round, in support of transition for Africa to a Green Economy Greater emphasis is required on embedding current gaps in agriculture, natural resources and informal sector needs into the Africa Consensus Statement to Rio+20 and the Rio+20 Zero Draft Mainstreaming Green Economy into development plans, strategies and policies at national and regional levels Next Steps beyond Nairobi 1. Leaders and governments must be able to commit on Rio process, and identify finance sources for specific programmes on the green economy through deep critical engagement. Entry point for engaging with wider stakeholder such as the members of 9 P a g e

10 parliament should be based on knowledge and research properly communicated and dissemination. More importantly, the concept of green economy should be unpacked to make it more understandable. 2. Trade Unions should ensure that national governments put in place rules that protect the employment of workers (quality of workplace, safety, employment rules and regulations, protect decency in jobs) and create sustainable jobs. 3. The role of the media in sustainable development (specifically the GE) simplify the message for effective dissemination. 4. Strengthen inside-outside strategy. 5. CSOs need to be more coordinated and to raise issues with governments and agree on common issues. Leadership of CSOs should come together on environmental and climate change issues as well as being more representative. Create accountability within the CSOs structures. 6. Mass mobilisation on our demands. 7. Dissemination and discussion of outputs from the New York Intercessional (March 2012) and Nairobi African Civil Society meetings to key national partners and Task Forces key is to familiarize oneself with these outputs 8. Active engagement with national, regional and Africa negotiators, where appropriate 9. Ensure succinct dissemination of messages at Rio+20 by African Civil Society 10. Advocate for comprehensive assessment of progress at national and regional levels since Rio 1992 agreement 11. Develop a monitoring framework to assess role out and impact of Green Economy road map 12. Establish a means by which to implement the next steps limitations, why wait, politics, etc. The cooperation is vital to guarantee the momentum in mobilizing other groups such as the civil society before and after the Rio+20 events. The outcomes of RIO will be discussed in other international events in order to devise the way forward in implementation. CONCLUDING REMARKS By Dr. Peter Oesterdiekhoff, Resident Representative, FES Kenya He expressed gratitude for participants commitments and great discussion on the two areas of Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty reduction; and the institutional framework for sustainable development. FES will continue working on these issues and cross-breed discussion before and after the Rio+20 conferences. The next international conference will be held in Dakar, Senegal in September National level engagements will be done to involve other stakeholders such as government and private sector to seek clarification of the concept of green economy. Interpretations of green economy concepts are key in devising the new paradigm shift and to identify practical steps towards implementing pertinent policies. 10 P a g e