Sweden has an international reputation for promoting sustainable development. This reputation is, of course, based on the nation’s efforts as a whole. ”I believe and hope that Sweden is perceived as a country that is at the forefront of sustainability issues internationally‚ both in terms of work in our own country and international work,” says Gunilla Carlsson, Sweden’s Minister for International Development Cooperation.
Fifty-six points to address Text: Gunnar Andersson
The UN Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm in 1972. It was the first in a series of conferen ces on sustainable develop ment held every ten years; in Nairobi in 1982, in Rio de Ja neiro in 1992, in Johannes burg in 2002 and preparations are now in full swing for the next conference in Rio, to be held 20-22 June. ”Ever since the Stockholm conference in 1972, Sweden has maintained a high profile internationally in terms of sus tainability issues. This year we are organising the conference Stockholm +40 – Partnership Forum for Sustainable Deve lopment where we will have yet another chan ce to push the sustainability agenda.” Carlsson believes that an in ternational consensus is im portant to achieving progress within sustainable develop ment. ”Each dimension of sustai nable development – the eco nomic, social and environmen tal – are, in many respects, 28
inter-related. What one coun try does affects other countri es. There may also be additio nal costs that prevent countries from moving ahead in the pursuit of sustainable development on their own. That’s why international con sensus and cooperation are so important,” adds Carlsson. Gunilla Carlsson is one of 19 high-ranking politicians from different parts of the world who have sat on the UN High Level Panel on Global Sustai nability Panel (GSP). The pa nel was started by Ban Kimoon in August 2010 and was jointly led by Finnish Presi dent Tarja Halonen and South African President Jacob Zuma. ”The UN Secretary General’s decision to ap point a High Level Panel on Global Sustainability is partly a result of the conclusions pre sented by the International Commission on Climate Chan ge and Development, which I chaired,” explains Carls son. The Panel’s task was to develop a new vi sion for sustainable
growth and prosperity and to suggest ways on how this should be implemented. The final report ”A Future Worth Choosing” was presented in Sweden on 24 February and is an important contribution to the Rio+20 Conference. ”Much of the report’s mes sage is evident in its title – ’A Future Worth Choosing’,” says Carlsson. ”Our basis for sus tainable development is all the millions of choices made every day by individuals, businesses and governments. Our com mon future is bound up with all of these decisions. The challenge we face is making sustainable choices possible. That’s why the Panel’s
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