Amy Adams21 June, 2012
- I am honoured to represent New Zealand,
and to amplify the voices of the Pacific,
as New Zealand is current Pacific Islands
Forum chair.
New Zealand has come
to Rio with a hope – that in reaffirming
and renewing the world’s commitment to sustainable
development we will address the future of
the planet and aspirations of future generations.
A healthy environment
is essential for maintaining human life
and livelihoods and for healthy economies
that are sustainable into the future.
New Zealand is very
conscious that resource use must be based
on sustainability.
Good science is essential
to quality policy decision making.
Best outcomes emerge
when governments engage civil society.
In New Zealand the Treaty
of Waitangi has created a special partnership
between the government and Maori.
Looking beyond our shores,
New Zealand’s development assistance is
directed to support sustainable development,
in order to reduce poverty and contribute
to a more secure, equitable and prosperous
world.
New Zealand sees a green
economy as a driver of economic, environmental
and social development. We are as focussed
on how we grow, as how much we grow.
We recognise that there
is no one size fits all solution. Green
economy policies need to take into account
different national circumstances.
More than 30 per cent
of New Zealand’s land area and some 8 per
cent of our territorial seas are in reserves.
Most of our energy is from renewable sources.
New Zealand has a world-leading fisheries
management system. New Zealand’s emissions
trading scheme is one of the first in the
world.
Internationally, New
Zealand launched the Global Research Alliance
on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases, to help
ensure agriculture could play a vital role
in food security, poverty eradication and
growth, without increasing greenhouse gas
emissions.
New Zealand continues
to promote the removal of trade distorting
and environmentally harmful subsidies, whether
these are for agriculture, fisheries or
fossil fuels.
In looking at the green
economy, New Zealand has focussed on areas
that we believe can deliver real and substantial
economic, social and environmental global
benefits.
New Zealand has looked
to Rio+20 to commit to phase out, over the
medium term, inefficient fossil fuel subsidies,
while mitigating adverse impacts on vulnerable
groups.
The scale of subsidies
for fossil fuels is massive. Estimates suggest
that the total cost is between US$400-600
billion a year.
Money spent on fossil
fuels is money that could be spent on other
sustainable development priorities. Some
countries spend more on fossil fuel subsidies
than they do on health or education.
Phasing out fossil fuel
subsidies would deliver benefits for a greener
economy and the climate.
New Zealand identified
the sustainable management, conservation
and protection of our oceans as an area
for more ambitious collective action.
Fisheries support 170
million jobs and more than 1.5 billion people
rely on marine resources for their protein
intake.
Landlocked countries,
too, are reliant on the oceans because of
the impact of oceans on the global climate
and because of the role they play in global
trade.
New Zealand is particularly
concerned about harmful fisheries subsidies
which make a significant contribution to
the worsening state of global fish stocks.
Subsidies create overcapacity, undermine
fisheries management decisions and can contribute
to illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.
New Zealand is delighted
at the commitment at Rio+20 to eliminate
harmful subsidies in the fisheries sector.
We have worked hard to address these harmful
subsidies in the World Trade Organisation,
but states need not wait for an outcome
in Geneva. We are pleased to see Rio encourage
states to eliminate these subsidies right
now.
We draw attention to
the 2011 call of Pacific Forum Leaders,
including New Zealand, for Rio+20 to recognise
the significant global value and contribution
of the Pacific Ocean to sustainable development,
acknowledging the stewardship of Pacific
Island countries.
Pacific Leaders urged
the international community to work towards
integrated oceans management, using the
Pacific Oceanscape as a model.
Leaders urged the realisation
of international goals that contribute to
the health and vitality of the ocean environment,
including through the global network of
marine protected areas agreed at Rio+10.
Leaders also highlighted
threats to the ocean environment, including
from ocean acidification, pollution and
illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Finally, to ensure that
Rio+20 included strong outcomes on the conservation
and sustainable management of marine ecosystems
and resources, Leaders called for the maximisation
of returns from the conservation and sustainable
management of ocean resources.
New Zealand sees ensuring
small island developing states enjoy a greater
share of their marine resources as a priority.
They are amongst the most fragile economies
in the world. Collectively we must do all
we can to support their efforts to strengthen
their resilience. We are pleased to see
commitments on these issues at Rio+20.
New Zealand is supporting
sustainable development in the Pacific,
Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean
through programmes focused on investing
in economic development, promoting human
development, improving resilience and responding
to disaster, and building safe and secure
communities.
New Zealand’s assistance
has a particular focus on sustainable economic
development.
Programmes include funding
for a wide range of activities in support
of agriculture, fisheries, tourism, transport
services and renewable energy objectives.
Activities are developed in close partnership
with our developing country partners.
Examples include the
substantial support provided for strengthened
fisheries management across the Pacific
region, for a major solar power project
in Tonga and geothermal power in Indonesia
and dairy and horticulture initiatives in
Africa and Latin America.
Turning to the second
theme of the conference, the institutional
framework for sustainable development, we
believe that form should follow function.
New Zealand believes
reforms should be practical, achievable
and effective, improve delivery on the ground
and support national strategies, institutions
and systems to achieve the development goals
of the country concerned.
New Zealand has welcomed
the initiative to develop sustainable development
goals.
However, development
of these goals should not undermine continuing
international effort to achieve the millennium
development goals.
New Zealand stands ready
to participate in any process to develop
these goals.
I am proud that so many
committed New Zealanders have made the long
trip to Rio to participate in this meeting
in their own right.
There are issues on
which the international community has found
it hard to agree.
But what we have in
common, what we all agree on, is the importance
of a renewed commitment to sustainable development
and the future of the planet.
That is the over-arching
goal to which I, the New Zealand government,
and New Zealanders, are committed.
