The European year for development

Briefing
The European year for development:
Sustainable development and climate action
Sustainable
development, touching
on economic, social and
environmental issues, is
essential for eradicating
poverty.
The Millennium
Development Goals
(MDGs) included one goal
on environmental
sustainability, but its
targets and indicators
have been far from
comprehensive.
The universal nature of
the new Sustainable
Development Goals
(SDGs) place
obligations on all
countries and in nearly
all policy areas. This
should promote policy
coherence.
Effective work on climate
change will contribute to
meeting the SDGs.
Although thinking
about development has
integrated
environmental issues,
environmental
degradation has still
worsened.
The concept of sustainable development – development that meets the needs of
the present generation without jeopardising those of future generations – was born
with a 1987 report from the World Commission on Environment and Development
titled 'Our Common Future'. The text pointed to the need to shape economic
development in a manner respectful of the planet's limits and of social justice – an
approach that is, in fact, essential for eradicating poverty. Around the globe, the
poor are the most vulnerable to environmental damage and to the disasters caused
by climate change.
Sustainable development addresses three areas of sustainability: economic, social
and environmental. Of these three, the environmental aspect most deeply
challenged traditional thinking on development. At the 1992 United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development in Rio, the international community
adopted a comprehensive plan of action (Agenda 21) and launched the three 'Rio
conventions' – on climate change, desertification and biodiversity. Commitments
were confirmed at the follow-up summits on sustainable development in 2002
(Johannesburg) and 2012 (Rio). The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
adopted in 2000 also include a goal on environmental sustainability, although its
targets and indicators were far from comprehensive.
The convergence of the Rio process and the follow-up to the MDGs culminated in
the adoption of a new international agenda in September 2015: 'Transforming our
World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'. The UN agreed on 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets, covering all aspects of
sustainable development, including political values: good governance, human
rights and peace. The universal nature of the SDGs, which create obligations for all
countries and in nearly all policy areas, is also a tool to promote effective policy
coherence for sustainable development. Climate change is specifically mentioned
in the new SDG framework (SDG 13), with the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognised as the primary international
forum for negotiating the global response to climate change. In this regard, the
upcoming 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 21), to be held in
Paris in December 2015, is seen as decisive for the future of international climate
action. The climate and the development processes are closely interlinked; climate
change interventions are now understood to play a significant role in achieving
the SDGs.
The challenges ahead are enormous. Although progress has been made since 1992
in integrating environmental considerations into development thinking and
planning, environmental degradation has still worsened in many regions of the
world. The MDG report 2015 shows that deforestation has slowed down, but that it
continues to jeopardise species and the livelihoods of millions of people. Global
carbon dioxide emissions increased by over 50 % between 1990 and 2012.
Progress has been made in protecting terrestrial and coastal areas, but efforts must
be scaled up to avoid further biodiversity loss. The continuing deterioration
Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies & European Parliamentary Research Service
Author: Marika LERCH and Valerie RAMET
Graphics and statistics: Eulalia CLAROS
01 November 2015 – PE 570447
ISSN 2443-4957 (print)
2443-4965 (online)
EN
The European year for development: Sustainable development and climate action
Proportion of land area covered with forest - How 2010 compares to 1990
Developed
regions:
36.3-36.7
Erradicate
extreme
povery and
hunger
Global
partnership for
development
From January
2016, international
activities will be
guided by 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which
encompass unfinished business
from the 8 MDGs
as well as several
new issues.
Eastern
Asia:
16.4-20.5
South East
Asia:
56.9-49.3
Universal
primary
education
In percentage points
Southern
Asia:
14.1-14.5
More than 2 pp increase
Up to 2 pp increase
Millenium Development
Ensure
environmental
sustainability
and
Sustainable Development Goals
Combat HIV,
malaria and
other diseases
No change
Up to 4 pp decrease
More than 4 pp decrease
Gender
equality &
women empowerment
Caribbean:
25.8-30.3
Reduce
child mortality
Latin
America:
52.3-47.6
Improve
maternal
health
Northern
Africa:
1.4-1.4
Sub-Saharan
Africa:
31.0-28.1
Caucasus &
Central Asia:
3.9-3.9
Western
Asia:
2.8-3.3
Oceania:
67.5-62.5
Protected areas, terrestrial and marine - How 2014 compares to 1990
Developed
regions:
6.0-13.4
CO2 emissions
Tons per capita
1990
Eastern
Asia:
10.8-15.1
2010
South East
Asia:
2.8-6.0
15
12.4
12
10.9
1.9
2.7
Less than 2 pp increase
6.1
4.8
3.6
2.8
Between 2 and 5 pp increase
7.3
6.8
6.3
6
2.2
2.8
2.4
0.9 0.8
Caribbean:
0.9-2.9
2.0
1.6
0.8 1.6
0.9
Southern
Asia
South East
Asia
Latin
America:
5.2-14
1.0 1.1
0
Northern
Africa
Page 2
Southern
Asia:
3.3-4.2
More than 8 pp increase
Between 5 and 8 pp increase
9
3
In percentage points
Sub-Saharan
Africa
Caribbean
Latin
America
Eastern
Asia
Western
Asia
Oceania
Caucasus &
Central Asia
Developed
regions
Northern
Africa:
2.2-6.3
Sub-Saharan
Africa:
7.1-11
Caucasus &
Central Asia:
2.7-4.5
Western
Asia:
2.6-11.3
Oceania:
0.1-7.4
Source: UN Millenium Development Goals,
Page 3
The European year for development: Sustainable development and climate action
Aid focused on the
environment grew
more than threefold
between 2001 and
2010, but richer
countries still have to
deliver on their
commitments.
The EU is committed to
mainstreaming
environmental and
climate concerns.
Eradicating poverty – in
the context of
sustainable
development – is a
principal European
objective.
Sustainability is a red
thread running through
the European
Parliament's positions on
development issues,
influencing discussions
on agriculture and
fisheries, energy and
trade.
underscores the importance of reaching an ambitious and legally-binding
agreement in Paris in order to keep global warming below 2°C. Based on its 2030
climate and energy framework, the EU submitted a binding target in March 2015:
an ' Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC)', which foresees a
reduction of at least 40 % in greenhouse emissions by 2030 compared to 1990.
The international community has committed to supporting poorer countries
addressing the effects of climate change, which result principally from the
emissions of industrialised countries. International partners have also agreed to
help emerging economies develop climate- and environmentally-friendly
technologies and processes from the outset. Official Development Assistance
(ODA) listing environmental sustainability as principal objective grew more than
threefold between 2001 and 2010. In 2013, bilateral ODA focusing on objectives
drawn from the Rio conventions reached USD 25.7 billion, or 30 % of total ODA.
However, many countries have yet to deliver on the commitments they made in
2009 to provide new and additional climate finance, which is supposed to reach
USD 100 billion per year by 2020. The issue of climate finance has also been
discussed in the preparations for the COP 21. The issue has proved contentious.
For the EU, including environmental considerations in all policies became a
binding requirement in 1997. The 2005 'European Consensus on Development'
makes 'the eradication of poverty in the context of sustainable development' the
key objective of EU development cooperation. Sustainable development is broadly
defined and includes good governance, human rights and political, economic,
social and environmental issues – a vision confirmed by the EU's 2011 'Agenda for
Change'. The EU has also adopted guidelines to ensure that environmental and
climate change considerations are mainstreamed in all development activities. The
Union also launched thematic programmes targeting specifically these sectors.
Within the EU's Development Cooperation Instruments for 2014-2020, the Global
Public Goods and Challenges programme includes a budget of EUR 1.3 billion
earmarked for environment and climate change. In total, the official bilateral aid
from the EU that supports environmental and climate change activities reached
USD 4.3 billion in 2013 – 17 % of all bilateral aid. The EU has also committed to
spend 20 % of its total budget for 2014-2020 on climate-related activities.
The European Parliament has used both its legislative power and its political
influence to push for effectively including environmental considerations in
development policy. Sustainability is a red thread running through the EP's
positions on issues including agriculture and fisheries, energy and
trade. Parliament has supported the new SDG agenda and its integrated approach,
including good governance and human rights. Environmental degradation
prevents poverty from being eradicated, Parliament has noted, and drives conflict
and violence. The European Parliament has persistently called for an ambitious
and legally binding global agreement to be reached in Paris, to phase out global
carbon emissions by 2050. In a recent resolution, Parliament called for
reinvigorating the EU's climate policy and for drawing a roadmap with predictable,
new and additional financing goals, in line with existing commitments.
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This document can be downloaded from the European Parliament's online database, Think Tank.
Print
ISBN 978-92-823-8329-2
Catalogue number QA-AP-15-011-EN-C
doi: 10.2861/402010
PDF
ISBN 978-92-823-8330-8
Catalogue number QA-AP-15-011-EN-N
doi : 10.2861/290424
© European Union, 2015