Our Government is gratified regarding the adoption
options to facilitate the mobilisation of resources and
of the Global Framework for Sustainable Consumption
their effective use in achieving sustainable development
and Production and the recognition of the importance of
objectives,” and calls for “a broad consultation with
a multilateral instrument that will be geared at managing
relevant international and regional financial institutions
marine biodiversity beyond national borders. South Africa
and other relevant stakeholders” to undertake this work.
was the lead voice in calling for the recognition of the
While several positive funding initiatives and
strategic role played by marine resources for sustainable
mechanisms are underway, we welcome the call for greater
development.
coherence and coordination to support sustainable
The South African government is already working
development. We wish to highlight particularly the need
towards promoting coherence in the initiatives that
to identify challenges that currently inhibit sustained
are aimed at promoting sustainable consumption
finance for sustainable development by developing
and production. The country will be moving into the
particularly least developed countries. Left unaddressed,
implementation phase of the green economy initiatives
there is the unfortunate risk that the growing discourse
as one of the tools to achieving sustainable development.
on financing the green economy would be decoupled
To this effect, an acknowledgement of sustainability
from creating enabling financial “ecosystems” that
reporting for publicly listed companies and institutions
mainstream sustainable development finance in support
is also seen as a significant milestone taken at Rio +20
of the delivery of the goals committed to at Rio+20.
and the South African government will provide the
Creating an equitable and inclusive sustainable
necessary enabling framework for corporate sustainability
development finance landscape is a critical component of
performance and reporting.
creating the future we want. Therefore, the South African
South Africa has extended an invitation to its
government will lead a member-states engagement
fellow member states to come together to contribute
during the fourth quarter of 2012 to reflect on the critical
to the process created under the Finance “Means of
elements to activate work towards the development of a
Implementation” in the Rio+20 agreements. The
Sustainable Development Financing strategy to facilitate
process provides for the launch of an intergovernmental
mobilisation of resources and their effective use in
process to propose options on an effective Sustainable
achieving sustainable development objectives.
Development Financing Strategy to be considered by the UN General Assembly by 2014. This process will “assess financing needs, consider
Therefore, the government is proud to announce that the outcomes of the Rio +20 conference are in line with the national developmental interests and that the
the effectiveness, consistency and synergies of existing
commitments reached advance the decisions taken at the
instruments and frameworks, and evaluate additional
World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held
initiatives, with a view to prepare a report proposing
in Johannesburg in 2002.
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