Chairs Summary Delhi Ministerial Dialogue on Green Economy and Inclusive Growth 3-4 October 2011, New Delhi,

India 1. The Delhi Ministerial Dialogue on Green Economy and Inclusive Growth was organised by the Government of India with the UNCSD Secretariat, which was held at Hotel The Ashok on 3-4 October 2011. 144 delegates participated in the Delhi Ministerial Dialogue (DMD), which included Ministers and high level representatives from 41 countries, besides delegates from nine international organizations and eminent experts in the field. 2. Smt. JayanthiNatarajan, Minister of State for Environment and Forests (I/C), Government of India, delivered the inaugural address. Mr. Sha Zukang, Under Secretary General of the United Nations and Secretary General of the UNCSD, Dr. Ashok Khosla, President, IUCN, Mr. Maurice Strong, former Under Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. T. Chatterjee, Secretary to Government of India, Mr. Ernesto Carlos Alvarez, Ambassador of Argentina in India on behalf of G-77 and China Dr.JanezPotocnik, European Commissioner for Environment also spoke in the inaugural session. 3. Plenary and Breakout sessions were held covering various aspects of food security, poverty eradication, and energy security in the context of Green Economy, besides a plenary on Country statements. The DMD provided a platform for free and frank deliberations on key developmental goal such as poverty eradication, food security, and access to energy and towards a greater understanding of the architecture of Green Economy. 4. The Plenary on Country Statements (Plenary 1) was co-chaired by Smt. JayanthiNatarajan Minister of State for Environment and Forests (I/C), Government of India, and Mr. Sha Zukang, Under Secretary General of the United Nations and Secretary General of the UNCSD. Representatives of 30 countries, besides European Commission presented their views, concerns, challenges, and achievements in the context of Green Economy, poverty eradication and sustainable development. They were: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Columbia, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, UK, US. 5. There were four more Plenary sessions which dealt with the poverty eradication, food security and energy security issues and concerns facing the planet and also various regions/ countries. They were the following: a. Plenary 2 - Integrating Green Economy with poverty Eradication, b. Plenary 3- Integrating Green Economy with Food Security, Considering Means of Financing and Implementation,

c. Plenary 4 -Integrating Green Economy with Energy Security Mix, Considering Means of Financing and Implementation and d. Plenary 5 - Formulating an Approach to Green Economy and Inclusive Growth The breakout sessions were held in smaller groups for more intensive discussions and interactions. 6. Dr. Martin Khor, Executive Director of South Centre, Dr. M. S. Swaminathan, Chairman MSSRF, Dr. R. K. Pachauri, Director General TERI, Prof. Thomas C. Heller, Dr.LeenaSrivastava, Executive Director TERI addressed various Plenary sessions. Mr.Vijai Sharma, Member National Green Tribunal, India, Dr.Kirit Parikh, former member of Planning Commission India, Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary CBD and others participated and gave their valuable suggestions. 7. The Delhi Ministerial Dialogue addressed various issues pertaining to sustainable management of sectors like agriculture, industry, energy and transport, urgent adoption of sustainable life styles and consumption patterns for reduction in ecological footprint, equity concerns, poverty eradication and developmental imperatives. The Dialogue laid a particular focus on how green economy strategies and policies can be integrated with poverty eradication, food security and energy security objectives. It held that Rio+20 need to consider how best to integrate green economy strategies and policies into these priority concerns. The following key points and views emerged in the two-day Delhi Ministerial Dialogue on various issues related to an approach to Green Economy and inclusive growth, poverty eradication, food security, and energy security.

8. Green Economy and Inclusive Growth a. Any outcome at Rio+20 should be based on the Rio Principles and there should be no rewriting or renegotiations of the above Principles. The reaffirmation of Rio Principles and reinvigoration of Agenda 21 was espoused. It was mentioned that the foundation of the GE approach was based on the Principle of Equity. The concept of equity encompasses intra-generational equity, inter-generational equity as well as equity across countries. A transition to GE should not lead to greater disparities. The Principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) was considered by many as crucial in this context. Similarly multilateralism was held to be important. b. It was held that the Rio+20 needed renewed political commitment of countries which should culminate in concrete actions, beyond political rhetoric. The crisis and challenges facing us included, inter alia, risk of new global recession, increasing food prices, food and energy deficiencies and natural disasters. It was expressed that the time had come to bring definite ideas, options and practical action plans agreed by all countries for the
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negotiation tables for Rio+20. It was said that Rio+20 must be about three thingsintegration, implementation and coherence. c. The concept of Green economy was interpreted in various ways by different countries. There was apprehension that the debate on the Green Economy may distract attention from sustainable development. There was a growing consensus that GE should be seen as one of the means to attain sustainable development and it is not an alternative to sustainable development. d. Preserving natural resources and making efficient and sustainable use of them was considered essential to making the transition to a greener economy. Sustainable management of these resources and sustainable use of the ecosystem would make crucial contribution to poverty eradication. Early operationalisation of Nagoya protocol was considered important in promoting conservation of biological resources. e. Rio+20 could facilitate collective action and development of a common understanding and consensus about the Green Economy approach and a possible Green Economy Roadmap accompanied by a tool box of flexible policies, instruments and best practices.A win-win economic and environmental arrangement ensures that economic and environmental synergies prevail over trade-offs and project and programmes are cobeneficial, bringing in revenues from both environmental and economic investments. In this context it was pointed out that it was not only important to know what is a Green Economy, it was also important to know what is not a Green Economy. This would help in delineating a Roadmap for Green Economy and identifying relevant policy tools. f. The approach to GE could include a menu of policy options, so that countries can choose nationally appropriate policies as per their needs and national circumstances. Green economy approach should be mainstreamed into national plans. National leadership was required for an effective transition to GE. Green economy should make economic sense to be sustainable and practical and people oriented solutions were necessary. g. It was held that one size does not fit all and that there should be recognition that national priorities and conditions would define the nature of the policies and strategies adopted by each country to green their economies. Rio+20 should allow flexibility to States to adopt nationally appropriate policies to pursue national priorities and objectives. h. There were references to a proposal for a set of SDGs. (Sustainable Development Goals) in the line of MDGs in the post-2015. This was advocated as a tool to guide and provide priority to SD agenda at international and national level. However the need for further consideration in this regard and the apprehension that it can subvert the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) were raised. It was felt that setting of restrictive quantitative targets needs to be eschewed.

i. It was said that poverty eradication remained the daunting and foremost objective, so long as human development and human dignity is not universally enjoyed, not only for the developing countries but for the entire planet. A need was felt for strengthening the social pillar, for gains of development to reach all sections of the society, to help the poor and vulnerable so that all sections of the society could grow and progress. Development was seen as an empowering process. j. There was a need to strike a balance between the three pillars of sustainable development, i.e. economic, social and environmental pillars, which required integration and coordination. Neglecting any one pillar would defeat the purpose of attaining sustainability and efforts should be made so that all the pillars reinforce each other. k. For Green Economy to become truly sustainable, there was a case to reject green protectionism. A Green Economy approach also accompanied associated risk and costs which needed to be studied and addressed. The costs of green economy and its and costs on States at various stages of development and nationally on various sections of people should be studied and mitigated, so that benefits from a GE approach could be maximized. l. Water was considered another vital sector with critical implications for sustainable development, including agriculture, food security and economic development. Water security was essential for efficient food production and sustainable agriculture. Rio+20 could be an opportunity to highlight the need for good water governance and efficient water use as key elements of sustainable Ocean development, sustainable use of marine resources could have significant implications for economic development, food security and social well being of many States particularly the small island States and in the context the concept of blue economy was mentioned. m. The unsustainable production and consumption pattern had resulted in rising demands on natural resources, ecological scarcities and many environmental crises. Therefore there was an urgent need for change in the unsustainable consumption and lifestyles.A strong commitment to follow the green economy strategies should come from the national governments. Political will, commitment and partnership with civil society and other stakeholders was considered important for transition to a green economy. n. Developing countries would need a supportive international financing system and technological support and enhanced access to market opportunities for a transition to Green Economy. In strengthening international partnership, developed country financing was seen as crucial for developing countries to undertake and implement policies for sustainable development. These would supplement domestic resources. The developing countries should not be burdened with the costs and risks of transition to a GE. In the

context of dematerialisation of growth and competition for resources, it was considered important that developed countries should not relieve themselves of their responsibilities. o. While public financing should take the lead in this direction, private sector could also play a proactive role in mobilising additional finance required for a transition to GE. A greater and innovative role for private sector was envisaged. The need for creation of a sustainable development fund to enable transition to a Green Economy was also mentioned. p. Access to clean technologies at affordable prices and removal of barriers to technology transfer were considered crucial for transition to GE. It was emphasised that technology innovation and investment in Science and Technology should be factored in to leapfrog towards sustainable development. Centres of excellence as nodal points for technology research and development in developing countries might be identified and provided appropriate resources so that appropriate and affordable technology solutions could be available in public domain. q. It was held that traditional knowledge should be documented and applied; however, decisions regarding appropriate technology options should be taken up in the context of national priorities and choices. r. Special efforts should be made to ensure participation at the Rio+20 Conference of civil society including NGOs, business and trade unions, especially NGOs from developing countries. It was highlighted that NGOs from developing countries were usually underrepresented in international fora because of their financial constraints. Therefore financial assistance to civil society of developing countries to participate in Rio+20 and augmenting the trust fund for the purpose of assisting NGOs to participate in the conference should be supported. s. It was mentioned that the existing international institutional framework lack coordination, coherence and work in silos. Weak institutional framework was considered one of the reasons why the world has not made adequate progress in strengthening and integrating the three pillars of sustainable development. There was a need for building and improving global partnership and institutional capabilities at international, regional, national and local level for sustainable development. The role of private sector and other stakeholders was recognised. There was a view that the existing arrangements of global governance needed to be strengthened including ECOSOC and UNEP reforms. It was felt that there was a need to narrow down these options without trying to create another superstructure. 9. Integrating Poverty Eradication with Green Economy a. Poverty eradication should be the benchmark for formulating GE policies. Sustainable and inclusive growth was considered important for poverty eradication, which in turn has to create opportunities for all, irrespective their levels of development. It was felt that the
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Poverty eradication agenda had to consider its strong inter linkages with food security, energy security. Food security was in turn related to land and water management. b. Poverty eradication with a Green Economy approach would be affected by the global economic downturn, environmental degradation and the social crisis germinating from the economic and environmental crises. In addition to the above, the world was to cope with the challenges emanating from increasing food prices, food and energy deficiencies, and natural disasters. Development had to reach the poor, the vulnerable and the people at the margin, i.e. growth had to be inclusive. In this context, the concept of inclusive growth was even more relevant so that socio-economically weaker sections and women and children, could be protected from change and adversity. The challenge was to bring the poor and the vulnerable groups into the ambit of Green Economy and give them access to resources. c. There were different views on the role of market, while one view envisaged a limited role for the government and free play of market forces, another view raised the concern that free market could lead to dominance by a few big players. A constructive and proactive role for public sector and government was seen in the developing countries in the context of green economy. d. A GE approach should be well designed to generate employment and sustainable livelihood for poverty eradication. Social protection programmes, worker retraining should ensure that the poor and vulnerable are protected. GE had to result in job creation, address unemployment and in this context the continuing role of SMEs was highlighted to create jobs. 10. Integrating Food security with Green Economy a. The various challenges for food security wererising demand for food, increasing degradation of resources and competing users for land, climatic risks, unstable global supply and prices for agricultural products. Food security was also to be examined from various aspects such as availability, access, absorption and appropriateness of food. b. Price volatility of food which has severe implications for food security can be addressed at the international level by following measures: slowing down or eliminating speculation, building stocks at global, regional and national level, restoring confidence in international trading system, investment in agro-ecological agriculture, and reducing food waste and pre and post-harvest losses by developed countries. c. It was felt that to address food security, improving productivity of agricultural inputs, sustainable agricultural practices, prevention and reversal of land degradation, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity was essential. Land degradation was considered a major challenge because agricultural production, thus food security, depends on the health of the soil. Half of worlds livestock and 40 percent of worlds food
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productionwere from dry lands. As a large proportion of population lives on dry lands, it was important that issues of land degradation, desertification should have prominence in green economy discussions. The cost of fixing a degraded land was far more than that of preventing land degradation. Prevention and reversal of land degradation was considered to be a cost effective strategy to enhance food security, with co-benefits in climate change management, biodiversity conservation and livelihoods. d. The special sensitivities of subsistence agriculture, indigenous people and the peasant economy were emphasised. Traditional farming had the characteristics of minimum tillage, environment friendly pest management, risk management by better agrobiodiversity, and involved mainly the small farmers and poor and contributed more to employment. On the other hand large scale farming were heavily subsidized, used more nutrients, and damaged the environment and biodiversity. Investment in water management, improving organic farming and traditional farming would be crucial in meeting the joint challenges of food crisis and related environmental problems. Organic agriculture, low pesticide management practices, soil fertility management through use of natural resources, improved biodiversity can have substantial livelihood and environmental impacts. However, the concerns of small and marginal farmers had to be respected. It was to be understood that greening of agriculture had limitations in the realm of dechemicalization. Accordingly, there had to be a judicious mix as per the capabilities of countries to adopt nationally appropriate strategies.

e. There was a need to connect farmers to markets to capture larger share of value along the supply chains, to give them access to micro-finance and to create non-farm employment to supplement farm incomes and mitigate risks. f. Incentives to scientific intensification of agriculture with resource conservation, reduction of pre and post harvest losses, use of a regionally differentiated approach, stronger agrigovernance including land reforms, water management, research and extension and adoption of a rights-based approach and improving dry-land farming would help in attaining food security. g. The time was ripe for a move to a second green revolution or what one of the speaker christened as evergreen revolution. This entailed sustainable intensification of agriculture with conservation or what FAO had described as save and grow. The new green revolution should be technology intensive not resource intensive. h. A global soil partnership in the line of a global water partnership was mentioned. i. Attention was drawn to the need for water conservation and mitigation of climate change impacts. The ecological foundation of the planet could be strengthened through water and

land management which was considered vital for food security. Removal of agricultural subsidies was an option to be considered. j. Policies to promote climate resilient agriculture should be developed and promoted considering the new risks brought in by climate change. 11. Integrating Energy security with Green Economy a. It was mentioned that three billion people in the planet do not have access to energy and 1.4 billion people donot have access to electricity. Universal access to sustainable energy was seen as essential. Providing universal energy access by 2030 was one of the biggest challenges that needed to be resolved in Rio+20 summit because energy was the basis of achieving other MDGs. b. Universal access to modern energy services at a sustainable basis was recognised as an imperative for economic growth and human development. The sustainability, reliability, and affordability of energy supply were also recognised as a need and a challenge to be met for improving the lives of a large proportion of population on the planet. Aspects relating to enhancing energy efficiency, changing of the energy mix and policies to promote use of renewable energy were required to be looked into. c. Governments could have a greater role in providing widespread energy access, building infrastructure and policy interventions could be done more efficiently by it. Thus, Governments role was important in the initial stages. A top down approach had to be amalgamated with a bottom up approach in this sector. d. It was felt that price support and micro finance were required to make cheap credit available to poor, involvement of local institutions, rapid expansion of rural electrification with grid infrastructure, technology transfer to SMEs could be some of the measures to improve access to energy. In the context of technology transfer to SMEs sector, the burden of initial costs of new technology, the importance of knowledge networking and skill development was discussed. e. Renewable energy was seen as a clean alternative to other energy services. Switching to renewables could lead to high socio-economic costs and appropriate policy intervention was required. Renewable energy sector required large investments, particularly in the initial stages and sophisticated technology and this could prove to be a restraint to its proliferation. The burden of the initial costs of new technology would be prohibitive on developing countries. Enabling environment for investment in renewable energy was necessary. f. It was said that Africa and Asia together account for roughly 75% of the worlds population but their per capita energy consumption level was much lower and their historical contribution to emissionswas also low. The developed world should reduce its
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consumption to reduce price and create space for developing countries to pursue growth and improve the lives of their people. Some drastic measures would have to be taken to change the business as usual situation which has high dependence on fossil fuel. In this context access to greater international financing was considered critical besides policy intervention. It was mentioned that reduction in subsidies to fossil fuel could lead to more efficient and cleaner energy mix. However, it was also noted that many countries have limited capabilities to change their current energy mix and in the absence of cost effective renewable technologies,the dependence of developing countries on fossil fuels for economic growth was expected to continue for some time. Clean coal technology options needed to be adopted. g. Sustainable energy for all should incorporate quality and quantity of energy supply issues. Additional energy demand for universal energy access would not put major pressures on energy demand and or climate security, provided developed world changes its current unsustainable consumption and lifestyles. It was also pointed out that universal access to energy would require multi fold enhancement in investment in energy. Developed countries needed to supplement the domestic mobilisation of finance and new and additional sources of funding for developing countries were needed. h. Development and access to clean affordable energy solutions, establishment of technology innovation centres to respond to the specific needs of developing countries, investments in clean energy infrastructure were some of the measures needed to ensure universal access to energy. i. Reliable data collection was a key to formulate meaningful policies. Information on the current magnitude of use, requirement and how much the country could afford, would help in planning.Rio +20could be an opportunity to help countries modernize their data collection. j. Availability of clean and affordable energy for cooking could have significant environmental and social implications in terms of improving health of the household from indoor pollution, saving labour used in collection of biomass fuels. Energy access and microfinance for cooking can improve lives of millions. *********