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Work by the United Nations Environment Programme on sustainable consumption and production

Document type
Decision
Reference number
SS.XII/7
Date
Nov 1, 2016
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Status
Active
Meeting
12th Special Session of the Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GC/GMEF)
Website
www.informea.org
Abstract
The Governing Council, Stressing the call in Agenda 2114 for action to promote patterns of consumption and production that reduce environmental stress and meet the basic needs of humanity, and recalling that changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production is one of the overarching objectives of, and an essential requirement for, sustainable development, as stated in the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development,15 Recalling its decisions 22/6 of 7 February 2003, on the promotion of sustainable consumption and production patterns, and 26/5 of 24 February 2011, on a 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, Recalling also the invitation for support for target 4 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, with its Aichi Biodiversity Targets,16 adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention at its tenth meeting, held in October 2010, which provides that by 2020, at the latest, Governments, business and stakeholders at all levels will have taken steps to achieve or have implemented plans for sustainable consumption and production and will have kept the impacts of the use of natural resources well within safe ecological limits, Noting that resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production together constitute one of the six cross-cutting priorities of the United Nations Environment Programme medium-term strategy for the period 2010–2013, Commending the work by the United Nations Environment Programme since the twenty-second session of the Governing Council in advancing sustainable consumption and production, Welcoming the sustainable consumption and production partnerships and joint initiatives developed through close cooperation between the United Nations Environment Programme and other regional and United Nations entities, including the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Tourism Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and other key stakeholders, Noting the achievements of the Marrakech Process on sustainable consumption and production, a global, multi-stakeholder process launched by Governments and major group initiatives and, with their valuable support, implemented in all regions with the United Nations Environment Programme and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, which is playing a key role in providing input for the elaboration of the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production called for in chapter III of the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which was considered by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development during its 2010–2011 implementation cycle, Recognizing the valuable support for the Marrakech Process provided by Governments and major groups, Noting that, while the 2010–2011 cycle of the Commission on Sustainable Development did not result in the adoption of a decision on sustainable consumption and production, it did indicate the readiness of the international community to take action to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production, its readiness to establish a 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production and its support for the continuation and reinforcement of the work of the United Nations Environment Programme in the area of sustainable consumption and production, Acknowledging that further progress in achieving sustainable consumption and production requires a more coherent and sustained approach and the provision of tools, information and capacity-building for mainstreaming sustainable consumption and production at all levels, Recognizing that consumption and production are central to global and national economic activity and that the promotion of sustainable consumption and production, based on life-cycle approaches, including resource efficiency and sustainable use of resources, is therefore required to achieve sustainable development, 1. Reaffirms the importance of sustainable consumption and production to the mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme, and requests the Executive Director to enhance support for the development and implementation of the resource efficiency/sustainable consumption and production subprogramme, which encompasses and contributes to work by the United Nations Environment Programme on the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication; 2. Requests the Executive Director to provide support for the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements that focuses on the implementation of sustainable consumption and production plans at the national level; 3. Encourages Governments, the private sector and other stakeholders to enhance efforts to shift to sustainable consumption and production, particularly in sectors with high environmental and social impact, including through corporate environmental and social responsibility; 4. Requests the Executive Director to undertake activities on sustainable consumption and production in the programme of work of the United Nations Environment Programme, taking into account those responsibilities identified in the text elaborated by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its nineteenth session, in line with the United Nations Environment Programme medium-term strategy and within available resources; 5. Calls upon the Executive Director, with the cooperation of member States, to make use of the scientific and policy knowledge base and relevant international science policy mechanisms, including the International Resource Panel; 6. Invites Governments to support the adoption of the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production elaborated by the relevant working group of the nineteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development;17 7. Requests the Executive Director to submit a report on sustainable consumption and production in the light of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development and on the implementation of the present decision to the Governing Council at its twenty-seventh session, in 2013.