Tue, Nov 1, 2011
New Report Lays-out the Challenges and Opportunities
for Sustainable Development up to Rio+20
and beyond
The report tracks economic, environmental,
social,geopolitical
and technological trends
Nairobi, 1 November
2011 - The environmental changes that have
swept the planet over the last twenty years
are spotlighted in a new compilation of
statistical data by the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP), released today in a report entitled
"Keeping Track of our Changing Environment:
From Rio to Rio+20".
United Nations Conference
on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)The report
is produced as part of UNEP's "Global
Environmental Outlook-5" (GEO -5) series,
the UN's most authoritative assessment of
the state, trends and outlook of the global
environment. The full GEO-5 report will
be launched next May, one month ahead of
the Rio+20 Conference taking place in Brazil.
UN Under-Secretary General
and UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner,
said, "Today marks the deadline for
governments, business and civil society
to submit their submissions for how Rio+20
can deliver a transformational outcome in
terms of accelerating and scaling-up sustainable
development for now seven billion people".
"The indicator
report gets us all back to basics, underlining
the rapid buildup of greenhouse gases to
the erosion of biodiversity and the 40 per
cent increase in the use of natural resources-faster
than global population growth. But the report
also underlines how, when the world decides
to act it can dramatically alter the trajectory
of hazardous trends that threaten human
well-being-action to phase-out ozone damaging
chemicals being a spirited and powerful
example," he added.
"Rio+20, under
the two themes of a Green Economy in the
context of sustainable development and poverty
eradication and an institutional framework
for sustainable development, can with the
requisite level of leadership trigger the
necessary switches that may ensure that
the balance of negative versus positive
trends moves from the red into the black
and that the Right to Development is enjoyed
by the many rather than the few," said
Mr. Steiner.
Through data, graphics
and satellite images, the UNEP report offers
wide-ranging information on a number of
key issues:
On population
. As the world's population
reaches 7 billion, urban population has
grown by 45 per cent since 1992
. Yet the percentage
of slum dwellers has dropped from 46 per
cent in 11000 to a third in 2010, thanks
to improved housing and sanitation
. The number of megacities
with at least 10 million people has grown
from 10 in 1992 to 21 last year - a 110
per cent increase
. 1.4 billion people
globally have no access to reliable electricity
or the power grid.
Climate change
. Global C02 emissions
continue to rise due to increasing use of
fossil fuels, with 80 per cent of global
emissions coming from just 19 countries.
. The amount of CO2
per US$1 GDP has dropped by 23 per cent
since 1992 underlining that some decoupling
of economic growth from resource use is
occurring.
. Nearly all mountain
glaciers around the world are retreating
and getting thinner, with severe impacts
on the environment and human well-being.
. Diminishing glaciers
not only influence current sea-level rise,
but also threaten the well-being of approximately
one-sixth of the world's population.
. Sea levels have been
rising at an average rate of about 2.5 mm
per year since 1992.
Energy
. Tracking energy trends
since 1992, the report indicates that the
contribution of renewable energy (including
biomass) to the global energy supply stood
at an estimated 16% in 2010.
. Solar and wind energy
accounted for only 0.3% of the total global
energy. Increased recognition of the need
to move towards low carbon, resource efficient
energy solutions can be seen in the 540%
increase in investments in sustainable energy
between 2004 and 2010.
. Due to the decreasing
prices of the technologies and adoption
of new policies, growth in biodiesel as
a renewable energy source has jumped 300,000
per cent, use of solar energy has increased
by nearly 30,000 per cent, wind by 6,000
per cent and biofuels by 3,500 per cent.
Resource Efficiency
. The global use of
natural resources rose by over 40 per cent
from 1992 to 2005. The report warns that
unless concerted and rapid action is taken
to curb and decouple resource depletion
from economic growth, human activities may
destroy the very environment that supports
economies and sustains life.
Forests
. Despite the net reforestation
now seen in Europe, North America and Asia
Pacific, ongoing forest loss in Africa and
Latin America and the Caribbean means that
global forest area has decreased by 300
million hectares since 11000.
. The annual 20 per
cent rise in the number of forests receiving
certificates for sustainable forestry practices
shows that consumers are exerting influence
on timber production. However, only around
10 per cent of global forests are under
certified sustainable management.
. A growing percentage
of the world's forests are one that have
been replanted-an area equaling the size
of a country like Tanzania.
Food Security and land
use
. Food production has
risen by 45% since 1992. These increased
yields are heavily reliant on the use of
fertilizers, which as well as enriching
soil fertility, can also have a negative
impact on the environment, such algal blooms
in inland and marine waters.
. Land used for organic
farming is growing at an annual rate of
13 per cent.
Drinking Water
. The world will meet,
or even exceed, the Millennium Development
Goals target on access to drinking water;
indicating that by 2015 nearly 90 per cent
of the population in developing regions
will have access to improved sources of
drinking water, up from 77 per cent in 11000.
The data compiled also
indicates that environmental target-setting
works best for well-defined issues such
as phasing out leaded gasoline or ozone-depleting
substances.
The Montreal Protocol
on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer,
for example, used mandatory targets to phase-out
the pollutants that were damaging the planet's
protective shield.
Over 90 per cent of
all ozone-depleting substances under the
treaty were phased out between 1992 and
2009. Similarly, only a small number of
countries still use leaded gasoline and
they are expected to make the switch over
the next year or two.
Other facts and figures
from the report include:
. 13 per cent of the
world's land surface, 7 per cent of its
coastal waters and 1.4 percent of its oceans
are protected.
. There is a growing
concern that the oceans are becoming more
acidic. This could have significant consequences
on marine organisms which may alter species
composition, disrupt marine food webs and
potentially damage fishing, tourism activities.
. The ocean's pH declined
from 8.11 in 1992 to 8.06 in 2007.
. The number of tanker
oil spills recorded has declined in 20 years.
. Biodiversity has declined
by 12 per cent at the global level and by
30 per cent in the tropics.
. Eco-tourism is growing
at a rate three times faster than traditional
mass-tourism.
. Plastics production
has climbed by 130 per cent.
The UNEP publication
also notes that many environmental issues,
which were only emerging in 1992, are now
firmly part of mainstream policymaking in
many countries.
Some examples include:
. New Multilateral Environmental
Agreements and Conventions which have been
established or entered into force to address
emerging global environmental issues.
. The greening of economy
has taken off as a viable pathway of low-carbon,
climate resilient and resource efficient
economic development.
. Carbon Trading has
put a monetary value on Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
. Recycling, or processing
waste into new resources, is becoming policy
and practice in many countries.
. Commercialization
of renewable energy, with biofuels, solar
and wind energy production growing.
. Chemicals Management
has led to the banning of a number of deadly
chemicals.
. Organic Products and
eco-labeling are growing thanks to consumer
demand.
. Nanotechnology is
growing, especially in the fields of energy,
health care, clean water and climate change.
The authors of the report
point out that the lack of sufficient, solid
data and monitoring systems to measure progress
remains an obstacles to achieving the environmental
goals set by the international community.
The report highlights the missing pieces
in our knowledge about the state of the
environment, calling for global efforts
to collect scientifically-credible data
for environmental monitoring.
The Eye on Earth Summit,
to be held in Abu Dhabi next month, presents
one such opportunity, where scientists,
policymakers and governments will work together
to define the key challenges and solutions
related to environmental data access and
sharing.
Notes to the Editors:
Rio Earth Summit: In
1992 the UN Conference on Sustainable Development,
popularly known as the Rio Earth Summit,
was convened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
to address the state of the environment
and sustainable development. The meeting
yielded several important agreements, including
'Agenda 21', a plan of action adopted by
over 178 governments to address human impacts
on the environment at local, national and
global levels, as well as key treaties on
climate change, desertification and biodiversity.
In June 2012 will be the follow up meeting
or Rio+20 in Brazil.
Keeping Track of our changing environment
can be found on the GEO-5 website: http://www.unep.org/GEO/pdfs/Keeping_Track.pdf
Eye on Earth Summit
(Abu Dhabi / 12-15 December 2011): Facilitated
by Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative
(AGEDI) and hosted by Abu Dhabi Environment
Agency (EAD) in partnership with the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the
Eye on Earth Summit will strengthen existing
efforts for unified, global solutions to
the issues that preclude access to data
and information on the environment. More
at: http://www.eyeonearthsummit.org/
