Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen: a pleasant good morning.
The Philippines believes that the Outcome Document is the minimum that can be agreed upon by consensus among all the world’s stakeholders. The document serves as a framework for individual actions and collective efforts to achieve sustainable development toward the creation of a better future for the next generations.
The country aligns itself with G77 and China, as well as other member states in striving for inclusive growth to reduce poverty and create a world that is just and equitable. Along this line, the Philippines reaffirms its commitment to sustainable development and recognizes that people are at the center of development.
Twenty years since the adoption of Agenda 21, the country has initiated efforts to mainstream sustainable development in planning, policy formulation and project implementation at the national and local levels. In its effort to provide an institutional structure for the implementation and monitoring of sustainable development initiatives, the country has formulated its Philippine Agenda 21 and established a Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) and its local counterparts. However, much more needs to be done, especially in enhancing and sustaining the integrity of ecosystems that support the country’s platform for economic growth and social development. The country’s geological location and ecological characteristics make it vulnerable to natural hazards and impacts of climate change. For these reasons, the Philippines puts importance on strengthening institutional capacities for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management to improve the resiliency of its ecosystems, communities and people.
The Philippines’ experience further provides evidence that successful integration of the three pillars of sustainable development --social, economic and environmental - can be realized both at the local and national levels. The Philippines believes that sustainable communities create a sustainable nation and the consolidation of these sustainable nations creates a sustainable world.
Recognizing the progress made, albeit modest, to achieve a sustainable future and the many challenges ahead, the Philippines considers green economy as a positive option to achieve sustainable development. To facilitate the transition to green economy, the global community must consider the need for common but differentiated responsibilities between developed and developing countries that reflects national development goals, priorities and capacities. While majority of the country’s development priorities have been included in the Outcome Document of the Conference, the following concerns on the Means of Implementation, especially pertaining to developing countries, should be addressed:
1. Access, technology transfer, knowledge sharing and cooperation, on green and economically viable production technologies, especially for energy and industries, thereby closing the technology gaps between developed and developing countries;
2. Long-term financial and green investment, including the establishment of green development fund, that will assist developing countries in rehabilitating and sustaining their natural capital;
3. Capacity building that institutionalizes environmental and resource accounting, developing green cities, and implementing environmentally sustainable transport systems;
4. Avoidance of trade protectionism and tying conditionalities to official development assistance (ODA) and uphold instead trade policies that prevent unfair competition that arises when countries protect their own production sectors through trade-distorting subsidies and non-tariff barriers, including unwarranted sanitary and phytosanitary measures; and
5. Strong consideration of social dimensions, including gender equality and women empowerment, universal health coverage (including sexual and reproductive health), bio-cultural diversity, and heritage.
The Philippines believes that the attainment of sustainable development can be best ensured by the participation of all stakeholders in decision-making and implementation and monitoring while strengthening the capacities of communities and local chief executives. Developing countries like the Philippines will benefit from heightened support of international and regional institutions in the effective localization of sustainable development. Hence, the Philippines reaffirms its support for the strengthening of the UN Economic and Social Council to achieve a balanced integration of the three pillars of sustainable development, and of the United Nations Environmental Programme to ensure that the environmental pillar of sustainable development will be continuously integrated in the international, regional and national development processes.
To attain sustainable development, the Philippines supports the establishment of clear, measurable, and verifiable sustainable development goals. The country believes that sustainable development goals can help ensure actions that will significantly contribute to the realization of the development vision.
The Philippines believes that this Rio+20 Conference is an opportunity for all nations to work together to achieve sustainable development. As we go back to our capitals, we will start to concretize and take action on the agreements reached and sustain the partnerships that have been established.
I wish to extend our gratitude to the Government of Brazil for hosting the Rio+20 Conference and ensuring its success. I also commend the Conference Secretariat, Secretary-General Sha Zukang and the Bureau, co-chaired by Ambassador John Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda and Ambassador Sook Kim of the Republic of Korea, for its leadership and tireless effort in helping Brazil come up with the Outcome Document: The Future that We Want, a document that will shape the present and next generations’ development.
Thank you.
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Speech by Honorable Arsenio M. Balisacan
Minister of Socioeconomic Planning
Republic of the Philippines
at the Plenary Meeting of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 2012
20-22 June 2012
Riocentro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil