More Good News for Youth from Rio + 20

R I O + 2 0

More Good News for Youth from Rio + 20

by

David Woollcombe

Youth were front and centre everywhere you looked at Rio+20: UN Secretary General has just amazed the UN by appointing the first ever Special Representative for Youth. There is talk of setting up a Special Platform for Youth as part of the permanent architecture of the UN System. 

Certainly the best speech I heard at Rio was one given by Dr Jeffrey Sachs to a Youth Session, addressed also by Ban Ki-moon, Ted Turner and Mohammed Yunus of the Grameen bank. Sachs said:
      “Youth!! You are even luckier than you know!  20 years ago, in Rio – the world got together to solve the problem of sustaining life on this planet. And they didn’t – so now – it’s all for you to do. And it is a grim reality, but it is one you should face with courage.
     “Three great treaties were signed here in 1992 on Biodiversity, Climate Change and Desertification. They are very clever, very well written – and not one of them has been implemented. Our governments are locked into vested interests and short term election cycles. And none of these treaties fit in to those realities. They require new ways of thinking – ways of thinking that will not come from rooms of diplomats negotiating. These treaties have become an industry for lawyers – and not for solutions. And as the lawyers earn their money: the emissions continue, the desertification spreads. The people around this table didn’t wait for government permission to get started. Yunus didn’t take the text book on Micro-Finance from the shelf: he wrote the text book!  I’m not against governments – but they are followers. That’s their job. We have to be the ones who tell them what will get votes.
    “The MDGs are a call to action – a call to conscience – and a call to imagination. They have changed the direction of dozens countries – malaria is down by 40%; maternal mortality is down by half; the MDGs are guiding policy everywhere. And here in Rio – we are invited to take up the Torch of crafting the SDGs. They are not a treaty to be negotiated by lawyers: they are a Call to Action to be drafted by Visionaries, like you!  They form the core of your generations’ unique challenge. No generation has faced this challenge – as you will have to, like it or not. And you will not have the luxury of waiting 20 years like we’ve just done. You don’t have time. We will help you – but you have to take the lead.
     “The final Review of the MDGs is in September 2013 – and at that point we have to have our SDGs.  SDG (1) has to be to eliminate poverty – completely. But you have to put the environment alongside every economic and social goal. It’s a must – because we are at the edge of the abyss. And the people of the Sahel and the Horn of Africa are over the abyss.
     “We live in the age of networking – and Ted Turner to my right is the father of Networks. And he, and I, and the SG have been discussing the idea of an SDG Network – that is practical, an exchange of knowledge. I want to see the SDGs in every school room around the world. So – every child knows them – internalises them, owns them!  As this has to be the generation of Sustainable Development – as a future generations will not have a choice. With Ted leading the way, with you – the youth! – taking on the challenge. You have a clear mission – you have a clear time mandate – and you will have a network, and the help, love and admiration of all of us to back you up!”

See: <http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/rio-20-jeffrey-sachs-business-democracy>

Jacob Scherr, Director of the US-based Natural Resources Defense Council, wrote: “I am dismayed to find that so many people have already accepted the message that the Rio+20 Summit was a “flop” or a “failure.” In terms of short-term politics and traditional benchmarks, Rio+20 could easily be seen as a bust. The top leaders of the U.S., U.K., and Germany did not bother to show. There were no treaties signed nor were there any major new agencies or funds created. However, the prime ministers and presidents of China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, and almost 90 other nations did come to Rio, along with thousands of governors, mayors, and other officials; CEOs, business leaders, and entrepreneurs; experts, advocates and activists. In all, there were more than 50,000 people participating in more than 3,000 side events and millions more around the world connected electronically. I agree with Ban Ki-Moon’s statement: "In Rio we saw the further evolution of an undeniable global movement for change."

No one was happy with the official outcome document but, as we have repeatedly stated, the international community does not need another treaty or agenda. There are already hundreds of unfilled international environmental sustainability goals. <http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2688&amp;ArticleID=9158> What really mattered in Rio were the hundreds of "non-globally-negotiated" specific commitments made by countries, communities, and corporations to take action now.

In Rio, leaders recommitted to what they were already doing and pledged to do more. The UN estimated that there were several hundred promises worth more than 500 billion dollars. <http://www.uncsd2012.org/index.php?page=view&amp;nr=1304&amp;type=230&amp;menu=38>  On NRDC's "Cloud of Commitments" <http://www.cloudofcommitments.org/>  website, we have aggregated more than 200 of the most significant from key Rio+20 commitment registries and platforms. A number of the commitments could lead to trillions of dollars of new investments in sustainable energy, transportation, and green urban infrastructure. Other pledges are difficult to put a dollar value on, such as the pledge by 400 of the world’s largest companies, joined by the US Government, to make their supply chains deforestation free by 2020 <http://www.summitwatch.org/us>  or the promise by the Australian Prime Minister to double the size of their marine parks. <http://www.summitwatch.org/au.html>

Just a few days before the start of the Rio+20 Earth Summit, Professor Elinor Ostrom, a nobel laureate in economics and a leading thinker on managing natural resources, passed away. In her last article, Professor Ostrom wrote <http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/green-from-the-grassroots> :

Much is riding on the United Nations Rio+20 summit. Many are billing it as Plan A for Planet Earth and want leaders bound to a single international agreement to protect our life-support system and prevent a global humanitarian crisis.

Inaction in Rio would be disastrous, but a single international agreement would be a grave mistake. We cannot rely on singular global policies to solve the problem of managing our common resources: the oceans, atmosphere, forests, waterways, and rich diversity of life that combine to create the right conditions for life, including seven billion humans, to thrive.

We have never had to deal with problems of the scale facing today’s globally interconnected society. No one knows for sure what will work, so it is important to build a system that can evolve and adapt rapidly.

In Rio, we saw progress towards the more flexible, nimble system envisioned by Professor Ostrom where leaders at every level take action. They are concrete, specific steps that will actually get us moving faster towards a low-carbon sustainable economy. With public engagement and pressure, they could quickly add up to the changes we need to get the future we want for ourselves and our children.


Here are links to some other voices giving the bigger picture of what happened in Rio:

U.N. sustainability summit ends with $513 billion in pledges

<http://soc.li/AS55Zjj>

Ken Weiss, Los Angeles Times

To some of those present, the conference presented a new model, a global gathering to inspire government and corporate leaders and others to move ahead and build momentum — rather than waiting for world leaders to reach consensus on a treaty to address climate change or other environmental matters.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

<http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/hillary-clinton-PEPLT007433.topic>

"We cannot be boxed in by the orthodoxies of the past. We need fresh, agile, action-oriented partnerships that can produce results year after year after year."

To Understand Rio+20, Put on Your 3D Glasses

<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-northrop/understand-rio20-3d-glasses_b_1625980.html>
Michael Northrop of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Think of Rio+20 as cinema. In its simplest black and white, small screen format, it was unsatisfying. Government negotiators failed to reach any agreements of note. But, in color, on the large screen, with your 3D glasses on, it was much more.

Rio+20: what does success look like in the post-Copenhagen era?

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/rio-20-success-post-copenhagen>
Andrew Deutz, Nature Conservancy

At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, there was a simple grand bargain: the poor countries would clean up if the rich countries would pay up. This was all codified in a series of treaties, declarations, and aid deals. Rio+20 doesn't have a grand bargain – in part because the simple, two-sided world of rich countries and poor countries doesn't exist anymore, and in part because many of the key players don't actually need a global deal.

Reflections on Rio+20: Who Are These New Environmentalists Undaunted by Political Gridlock? <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roger-platt/reflections-on-rio-20-who_b_1632138.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&amp;src=sp&amp;comm_ref=false#sb=2757824,b=facebook>
Roger Platt, U.S. Green Building Council

Trying to solve the world's most pressing and ubiquitous environmental problems by convening the very governments stuck in gridlock the last 20 years was never going to be a silver-bullet solution. An old-school UN conference with representatives of 193 countries negotiating a "consensus" agreement is no longer the ideal medium for change. In some respects, the medium was the message.

What Will Rio+20 Mean?

<http://blog.nature.org/2012/06/what-will-rio20-mean/>
Glenn Prickett, Nature Conservancy

But summits like Rio+20 are about more than negotiated outcomes. They inspire a new generation of leaders. They embed new concepts. They set agendas. They leave a legacy that can’t be defined neatly as “success” or “failure.” Stockholm launched the global environmental movement. Rio 92 enshrined the concept of sustainable development. What will be the legacy of Rio+20?

Path to progress may be in the cloud

<http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/337991/path-to-progress-may-be-in-the-cloud?SESS2979d9d11059b38be6e4d817c99b003e=facebook#.T-ijhKaO1Wc.facebook>
Editorial, Concord (N.H.) Monitor

We doubt that more than a handful of the 50,000 Rio attendees expected any grand accords to be reached. We certainly didn't. Recognizing that, the Natural Resources Defense Council began creating a tool that could lead to building cooperation block by block. It is one of the most heartening accomplishments to come out of the Rio conference.

Rio+20 side events become the main event <http://www.cjr.org/the_observatory/rio20_coverage_outcome_environ.php?page=all>
James Fahn, The Observatory Blog, Columbia Journalism Review

But the media, and civil society in general, might be focusing on the wrong results. Several veteran observers like former Senator Tim Wirth, President of the UN Foundation, and Jacob Scherr of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) say the talks were bound to disappoint. The interesting, and perhaps more newsworthy, parts of the summit were to be found away from the negotiations, in side events where NGOs, businesses and other groups gathered to present, discuss, and plan concrete actions to achieve greener growth.

What Did Youth Get out of Rio + 20?

R I O + 2 0

What Did Youth Get out of Rio + 20?

by

David Woollcombe

The much maligned Rio+20 outcome document (‘283 paragraphs of fluff’ – George Monbiot, The Guardian) – in fact contains several pieces of good news for youth. We can, and should, build on them as we develop our efforts to get youth to the heart of the post-MDG / Post-2015 / Sustainable Development Goal agenda. Here they are, in the order which they appear in the document:

24. We express deep concern about the continuing high levels of unemployment and underemployment, particularly among young people, and note the need for sustainable development strategies to proactively address youth employment at all levels. In this regard, we recognize the need for a global strategy on youth and employment building on the work of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Their concern is merely touching – and the employment-building work of the ILO not perhaps the most shiningly successful example of youth job creation. But we can build on this: it a foot in the door – and one to exploit.

50. We stress the importance of the active participation of young people in decision-making processes as the issues we are addressing have a deep impact on present and future generations, and as the contribution of children and youth is vital to the achievement of sustainable development. We also recognize the need to promote intergenerational dialogue and solidarity by recognizing their views.

This clause adds little to the commitments made in Chapter 25 of Agenda 21 from the original ’92 Earth Summit. And it betrays the haste with which this final text was put together – as the ‘their’ in the last sentence could refer to either elders or youngers. It also egregiously leaves out any reference to ‘how’ that active participation of young people might be achieved?  Including youth on each government UN delegation is one way: having a seat at the table of the 3^rd Committee of the UN would be another. The language is distressingly vague – but your government signed it. Go ask them how they mean to implement it?

148. We are concerned about labour market conditions and widespread deficits of available decent work opportunities, especially for young women and men. We urge all governments to address the global challenge of youth employment by developing and implementing strategies and policies that provide young people everywhere access to decent and productive work, as over the coming decades, decent jobs will need to be created to be able to ensure sustainable and inclusive development and reduce poverty.

This appears to be a repetition of the sentiments advanced in Clause 24 – omitting the ILO – but adding much faff about the need for job creation and the ‘deficit of decent work opportunities.’  Nice that governments expressed their concern not once but twice about PCI’s priority issue: youth unemployment. Another excuse to go to your government and ask them what they intend to do about it?

149. We recognize the importance of job creation by investing in and developing sound, effective and efficient economic and social infrastructure and productive capacities for sustainable development and sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth. We call on countries to enhance infrastructure investment for sustainable development and we agree to support UN funds, programmes and agencies to help assist and promote developing countries’ efforts, particularly the least developed countries, in this regard. 

This appears to suggest that governments should be pursuing public infrastructure projects to create jobs for youth. This is not a new idea: the South African ‘Expanded Public Works Programme’ has given thousands of young people their first taste of work experience and earning a salary while, supposedly, learning a skill at the same time.  But history has shown it to be the least-promising area of youth job creation – demonstrating the utter lack of knowledge or experience the drafters of this outcome statement have of our field. However, good that they mention it: it gives us a point of departure to discuss more effective approaches to youth job creation.

155. We encourage the sharing of experiences and best practices on ways to address the high levels of unemployment and underemployment, in particular among youth.

Well darn! – PCI has just presented a proposal to the European Commission to do just that: to create a Handbook on Youth-led Job Creation drawing on the examples of best practice from around the world. Thank you, Rio+20, for recognizing the importance of this initiative and getting the agreement on the need for it from 193 UN member state governments.

230. We recognize that the younger generations are the custodians of the future, as well as the need for better quality and access to education beyond the primary level. We therefore resolve to improve the capacity of our education systems to prepare people to pursue sustainable development, including through enhanced teacher training, the development of curricula around sustainability, the development of training programmes that prepare students for careers in fields related to sustainability, and more effective use of information and communication technologies to enhance learning outcomes. We call for enhanced cooperation among schools, communities and authorities in efforts to promote access to quality education at all levels.

This somewhat garbled language is all that’s left of the Universal Youth desire for language that commits governments to introducing Education for Sustainability at every level of the education system. Some of the best news out of Rio+20 – is that Brazil has just passed legislation to commit to teaching sustainability studies at every level of the school / college system AND to include mandatory exams on the subject. So – Brazil has embraced the language that PCI originally offered to the UN for “inclusion of sustainability studies in the assessed curriculum of all schools at all grade levels.” This is good as, with the Brazilian example and UNESCO’s support for it, we can now work hard on getting every other UN Member State Minister for Education to introduce it.

231. We encourage Member States to promote Sustainable Development awareness among youth, inter alia, by promoting programmes for non-formal education in accordance with the goals of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

This is a cute little paragraph that neatly promotes PCI’s assertion that non-formal teaching about Sustainability is more effective than class-room cognitive teaching on the subject. It has an interesting history: in most of the Road to Rio+20 Youth Prepcoms, the need for non-formal education came up everywhere. So – when the youth arrived in Rio and found nothing about it in the text, they asked the Co-Chairs of the Drafting Group if they could introduce this new language. The Co-Chairs gave them an hour to persuade the government delegates – and a team of about ten youth went to work, persuading almost everyone – except the Algerian leader of the G-77 – who was concerned about any kind of education that took place outside the classroom. 

The Girl Guides and Scouts pointed out that some of the best learning happens for them outside the classroom – and finally, he threw up his hands in despair and agreed to the inclusion of the language.

So this is one example of how, against all the odds, the youth got one small change into the language of the Rio+20 outcome statement. It is one we can, and must, build upon to ensure that non-formal education about sustainability is given the profile it needs to ensure that youth groups every where take the time to learn about it – long after the much derided UNESCO Decade for ESD is well-forgotten.

A blog about what the Outcome statement left out about the Youth Concerns – would be a much longer document than this one about what was left in. Obviously, we were disappointed that nothing about Sexual preferences was included. Nothing about the Ombudsperson for Future Generations; nothing about peace or de-militarisation or nuclear disarmament – self-evidently the foundation of sustainable development. And no sense of urgency – no road map for key commitments on the elimination of harmful subsidies etc. If you want to see my roasting of the UN and Government performance at Rio+20, read my blog at: http://dwrio-2012blog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/rio-20-much-worse-than-copenhagen-un.html - or for a more measured, but equally hostile, reaction, read the ANPED Switch on Rio+20 at: http://www.anped.org/index.php?part=728

But what was included does give us agreements to work with – especially in the key areas of youth job creation, and education for sustainable development. Rather than wring our hands in despair about what was NOT there, we should capitalize upon what is included – and work with it to make good on our governments’ promises.