By Julian Velez
The EU again steps forward to propose the idea of a roadmap for the Green Economy. They are testing the waters, looking at the reactions of the different groups in order to come up with a proposal of how that roadmap should look like. Their position on how to implement this roadmap is quite visible. Their roadmap plan demonstrates their lack of inclusion of the developing world, especially vulnerable countries: The Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States and the African countries have been explicitly suggested for deletion throughout the text. In the EU’s vision there is no space for mention of specific country blocks because they want a general document that doesn’t go into any specificities. They want a green economy that is vague and generic, that doesn’t reflect any of the critical points for the developing world.
They called for the deletion of the right to development under the green economy, which is a key principle for G77 (representing 132 developing countries). The right to development is a concept stemming from the view that the poorest countries of the world don’t have the means to attain sustainable development by themselves, and therefore should be provided with support and means to fulfill sustainable development. The EU called for the deletion of this because in their perspective it doesn’t relate to the green economy and because it shines a negative light on the concept of green economy… maybe they just want to avoid providing any national funding. Furthermore, they suggested the deletion of the recognition of the Rio principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities for sustainable consumption and production patterns. As far as I know Haitian and Ethiopian people have a very different lifestyle and levels of consumption than people in France or Germany. Not to mention levels and differences in production.The EU says that they want a green economy roadmap with deadlines, specific goals, objectives and concrete actions at the international level in a specific number of cross-cutting thematic areas. They are pushing for a focused political document that will inspire nation states to renew their political commitments. It looks as though they are trying to avoid any language that reflects specifics for actual implementation.
But they do want an explicit mention of the green economy in their terms through the involvement of the private investment, domestic resources, International Financial Institutions and South-South cooperation. The EU has no intention of stepping forward for the creation of an that furthers the principle of equity. There is a call for creating a text with positive lighting that would inspire and bring about political will from the Heads of State, but this positive light mentioned by the EU doesn’t seem to inspire and shine upon the developing nations. All nations should take ambitious steps to achieve sustainable development both at the national and the international level, but this doesn’t mean that the developed world is exempt from their responsibility to support with means of implementation. Without commitments from the developed world the roadmap towards a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication seems quite bleak for the developing world, and the principle of equity would not be properly addressed in the future of our economy.Do we want a text that inspires ambitious action form all nations? Or do we want an outcome that inspires another 20 years of inaction?
