The UN Regional Commissions » Sustainable Development

Development in today’s context is at a critical juncture, with multiple crises (financial, food and energy) forcing us to re-assess the economic paradigm of our time and evaluate how to better address the unfulfilled promises that we are currently leaving to future generations in areas of employment, social progress, quality of life and respect for nature.
While the integration of the pillars of sustainable development is of utmost importance, the implementation of the concept has proved challenging in practice. In its simplest form, integration of the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development implies the implementation of coordinated and complimentary actions in the different sectors which results in economic growth that also achieves social objectives, without compromising the limited resources of the planet. The effective integration of the pillars requires the implementation of a set of focused and specific actions within the three pillars, which are complimentary and fit within an overarching sustainable development framework.
As part of this side event, Member States and the Regional Commissions are focusing on key areas for sustainable development in their respective regions. Specific examples and approaches, ranging from norms and standards to economic instruments and overarching sustainable development frameworks, are being highlighted as contributing to the integration of the pillars of sustainable development. These areas serve to highlight the pivotal role that has been played by the Regional Commissions in promoting and implementing an integrated approach to sustainable development at the regional level.

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Regional Commissions and Climate Change

admin — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 21:59:41 +0000

Each of the regions is being affected differently by climate change according to their particular circumstances and conditions and will have to implement measures to minimize and address these impacts through a combination of mitigation and adaptation measures. In order to make informed decisions about climate change policies and plans, countries need to: know how their economies will be affected by the impacts of climate change; be aware about the costs of inaction; and estimate the costs of different options for mitigation and adaptation to confront climate change in cost-effective manner.

Working with their UN and other regional partners, the Regional Commissions are mobilizing their normative, analytical and technical capacities to undertake collaborative initiatives and actions to assist Member States to develop coherent development policies that tackle climate change, including through the assessment of the economic impacts of climate change, evaluating the costs of mitigation and adaptation measures and exploring options for climate change financing. An overview of these actions and initiatives in each region will be presented during the dialogue with the Second Committee.

(Please click and download the following documents below for your information)

Financing Global Climate Change Mitigation (Joint Publication)

The United Nations Regional Commissions and Climate Change Challenges (Joint Publication)

Brochure – Climate Change: Supporting Actions at the Regional Level

Flyer

Powerpoint Presentations

Abstracts