Decision 9/1
Energy for sustainable development


A. General considerations

1. Energy is central to achieving the goals of sustainable development.
2. The magnitude and scale of energy needs facing the world today in relation to sustainable development can be gauged by the fact that nearly one third of the global population of six billion, mostly living in developing countries, continue to lack access to energy and transportation services. Wide disparities in the levels of energy consumption within and between developed and developing countries exist. Current patterns of energy production, distribution and utilization are unsustainable.
3. The challenge ahead will require adequate, predictable, new and additional financial resources, in accordance with chapter 33 of Agenda 21, and paragraphs 76 to 87 of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, technology transfer and, where appropriate, political will, as well as commitment to innovative ways of applying energy efficient, environmentally sound, and cost-effective technologies and systems to all sectors of the economy. Energy resources are plentiful, and environmentally sound technological options exist and should be made available and facilitated by developed countries to developing countries as well as countries with economies in transition with a view to making energy for sustainable development a reality. Ensuring adequate and affordable access to energy for present and future generations, in an environmentally sound, socially acceptable and economically viable way, will require considerable efforts and substantial investments, including from the private sector. Attention will also need to be given to promoting an enabling environment.
4. In order to make energy systems more supportive of sustainable development objectives, contributions from all stakeholders, as well as increased investments, will be needed. Change will not be driven by resource constraints for a very long time to come. Energy for sustainable development can be achieved by providing universal access to a cost-effective mix of energy resources compatible with different needs and requirements of various countries and regions. This should include giving a greater share of the energy mix to renewable energies, improving energy efficiency and greater reliance on advanced energy technologies, including fossil fuel technologies. Policies relating to energy for sustainable development intended to promote these objectives will address many of the issues of economic and social development as well as facilitate the responsible management of environmental resources.
5. In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradations, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The choice and implementation of policies to improve the ways to achieve energy for sustainable development basically rest with Governments. However, financial resources play a key role in their implementation. For developing countries, official development assistance (ODA) is a main source of external funding, and substantial new and additional funding for sustainable development and the implementation of Agenda 21 will be required. A participatory approach involving all relevant stakeholders could facilitate progress. Given that energy is an area with strong interdependencies among countries, international cooperation should be promoted in line with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The way in which energy issues are addressed in a country depends on the national energy situation and needs. Therefore, a range of options and strategies becomes necessary to address the issues involved. Accordingly, a number of options and strategies that could effect a change in the way energy is dealt with are delineated subsequently. The choice of any specific option would obviously depend on the domestic situation.
6. The Commission underlines the importance of principle 16 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in the context of energy policies, taking fully into account the economic, social and environmental conditions of all countries, in particular of developing countries.

B. Issues and options

7. Governments, as well as relevant regional and international organizations and other relevant stakeholders, are invited to consider the issues and options set out below when dealing with energy, taking into account national and regional specificities and circumstances, bearing in mind the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
8. Foremost in the developing countries? priorities is the eradication of poverty for the furtherance of sustainable development. Efforts should therefore be made to ensure that energy policies are supportive to developing countries? efforts to eradicate poverty, with financial assistance, as appropriate. Nevertheless, environmental standards should not be applied in ways that would hinder these efforts.
9. Governments may seek assistance, as appropriate, from relevant regional and international organizations in the formulation and implementation of their domestic energy policies. The international community should support national efforts by promoting capacity-building, technology transfer, investments and other forms of financial resources for developing countries.
10. Governments, continuing to have responsibility to develop and apply energy policies to achieve sustainable development, are invited to consider the following options, as appropriate:
(a) Combining, as appropriate, the increased use of renewable energy sources, more efficient use of energy, greater reliance on advanced energy technologies, including advanced fossil fuel technologies, and the sustainable use of traditional energy resources, which could meet the growing needs for energy services in the longer term to achieve sustainable development;
(b) Integrating energy considerations in socio-economic programmes, especially in policy-making of major energy-consuming sectors, such as the public sector, transport, industry, agriculture, urban planning and construction;
(c) Establishing an appropriate enabling environment conducive to attracting investments and supportive of the objectives of sustainable development and to ensuring public participation;
(d) Developing appropriate energy services, particularly in rural areas, through the application of the most cost-effective, socially acceptable and environmentally friendly technologies, the deployment of specific energy service delivery structures and the development of renewable energy resources, including biomass;
(e) Supporting efforts to improve the functioning of energy markets with respect to both supply and demand, with the aim of achieving greater stability and predictability and to ensure consumer access to energy services;
(f) Establish domestic programmes for energy efficiency, including, as appropriate, by accelerating the deployment of energy efficiency technologies, with the necessary support of the international community;
(g) Supporting increased use of renewable energies both in grid-connected and decentralized systems;
(h) Optimizing the efficient use of fossil fuels through the increased development and use of advanced fossil fuel technologies;
(i) Enhancing international cooperation in order to assist countries, in particular developing countries, in their efforts to achieve energy for sustainable development;
(j) All countries should strive to promote sustainable consumption patterns; developed countries should take the lead in achieving sustainable consumption patterns; developing countries should seek to achieve sustainable consumption patterns in their development process, guaranteeing the provision of basic needs for the poor;
(k) Encouraging public-private partnerships with a view to advancing energy for sustainable development;
(l) Facilitating the dissemination of information on environmentally sound technologies and processes to increase awareness of these options and enhance public participation, as appropriate, in decision-making surrounding the provision of these energy services for sustainable development;
(m) Strengthening the role of major groups, including women, inter alia, through participation in decision-making, as appropriate;
(n) Supporting energy conservation programmes in all economic sectors;
(o) Strengthening existing national and local institutions that develop, implement and operate national programmes on energy for sustainable development;
(p) Supporting research, development and demonstration for the above-mentioned activities towards energy for sustainable development, including on transport systems; and enhancing regional and international cooperation in the research and development in these areas.

C. Key issues

11. Concerning the key issues of energy identified at the first session of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Energy and Sustainable Development, the Commission recommends the options and strategies set out below for each key issue. To ensure effective implementation of such key issues, the means of such implementation, namely adequate and predictable new and additional financial resources in accordance with chapter 33 of Agenda 21 and paragraphs 76 to 87 of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, as well as the transfer of environmentally sound technologies and capacity-building, are fundamental.

1. Accessibility of energy


Challenges

12. Access to energy is crucial to economic and social development and the eradication of poverty. Improving accessibility of energy implies finding ways and means by which energy services can be delivered reliably, affordably and in an economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound manner.

Recommendations

13. Governments, taking into account their national circumstances, are encouraged to:
(a) Establish or strengthen national and regional arrangements for promoting energy accessibility within the country;
(b) Improve access to modern biomass technologies and fuel wood sources and supplies and commercializing biomass operations, including the use of agricultural residues, where such practices are sustainable;
(c) Support the transition to the use of liquid and gaseous fossil fuels, where considered more environmentally sound, socially acceptable and cost-effective;
(d) Develop locally available energy resources for greater energy diversification, where considered more environmentally sound, socially acceptable and cost-effective, with increasing use of renewable energy resources;
(e) Support electricity services based on grid extension and/or decentralized energy technologies, particularly in isolated areas, as appropriate;
(f) Strengthen national and regional research and development institutions/centres on energy for sustainable development, including renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency, advanced energy technologies, including advanced fossil fuel technologies, and sustainable use of traditional energy resources;
(g) Promote an environment which enables the public sector, the private sector and, as appropriate, energy cooperatives, including through public-private partnerships, to engage in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity at affordable rates and in the transfer of technology;
(h) Develop renewable energy, especially in rural areas, through community-based development methods;
(i) Enhance developing countries? access to environmentally sound and economically viable technologies relating to energy for sustainable development;
(j) Support equal access for women to sustainable and affordable energy technologies through needs assessments, energy planning and policy formulation at the local and national levels.

2. Energy efficiency


Challenges

14. Energy efficiency can be a win-win solution both for developed and developing countries, but currently energy efficiency has not reached its potential. Barriers to optimizing the energy efficiency potential involve lack of access to technology, capacity-building and financial resources, as well as market related and institutional issues.

Recommendations

15. Governments, taking into account their national circumstances, are encouraged to:
(a) Strengthen public awareness programmes to mobilize all stakeholders;
(b) Promote an enabling environment for encouraging energy service companies for research and investments in energy efficiency;
(c) Provide incentives for energy conservation in all sectors, taking into account domestic priorities;
(d) Develop, as appropriate, at the country and regional level, energy efficiency programmes and policy options;
(e) Strengthen capacity-building, including education and training, ranging from energy planning to technical engineering, to improve the performance of energy and materials use;
(f) Accelerate development and deployment of energy efficiency technologies;
(g) Integrate, as appropriate, energy efficiency considerations into the planning, operation and maintenance of long-lived energy consuming infrastructures, notably transport, urban lay-out, industry, agriculture and tourism;
(h) Increase the efficiency of technologies used in the production and consumption of energy;
(i) Facilitate a movement towards more efficient utilization of energy through equipment manufacturing support programmes, with international cooperation;
(j) Encourage the transfer of energy efficiency technologies, in particular to developing countries, on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed;
(k) Strengthen, as appropriate, existing institutions that develop and operate energy efficiency programmes;
(l) Strengthen, as appropriate, existing institutions that compile and disseminate information on energy efficiency programmes and technologies;
(m) Develop and implement measures that make energy efficiency technologies more affordable.

3. Renewable energy


Challenges

16. The main challenge lies both for developed and developing countries in the development, utilization and dissemination of renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wind, ocean, wave, geothermal, biomass and hydro power, on a scale wide enough to significantly contribute to energy for sustainable development. Despite some progress in promoting renewable energy applications in recent years, inter alia, through the implementation of the World Solar Programme 1996-2005, numerous constraints and barriers including costs continue to exist.

Recommendations

17. Governments, taking into account their national circumstances, are encouraged to:
(a) Develop and implement appropriate national, regional and international policies and measures to create an enabling environment for the development, utilization and distribution of renewable energy sources;
(b) Develop domestic programmes to increase the contribution of renewable energies to total energy consumption;
(c) Encourage the role of the private sector in the development and utilization of renewable energy technologies, through the provision of appropriate incentives and regulation;
(d) Strengthen research, development, demonstration and institutional capacities in the field of renewable energy utilization, as well as the transfer of environmentally sound and advanced technologies;
(e) Promote the utilization of renewable natural resources, such as solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydro (including mini-hydro), and ocean (wave, tidal, and thermal energy conversion) to meet part of the energy needs for sustainable development;
(f) Strengthen information networks, compilation and dissemination systems and public awareness programmes on renewable energy sources and technologies;
(g) Develop and use indigenous sources of renewable energy, where appropriate;
(h) Develop and implement measures to make renewable energy technologies more affordable;
(i) Strengthen financial support to developing countries for the promotion of renewable energy.

4. Advanced fossil fuel technologies


Challenges

18. Given that fossil fuels will continue to play a dominant role in the energy mix in the decades to come, the deployment and use of advanced and cleaner fossil fuel technologies should be increased. More efforts should go into supporting the further development and dissemination of those technologies.

Recommendations

19. Governments, taking into account national circumstances, are encouraged to:
(a) Develop and apply more efficient fossil-fuel fired power plants, buildings, appliances and transportation, including cleaner coal and oil technologies;
(b) Increase the use of cleaner fossil fuels to improve efficiency in energy production, distribution and use, where appropriate;
(c) Research, develop and transfer technologies for transforming solid fuels to liquid or gaseous fuels;
(d) Enhance research, development, demonstration and transfer of advanced fossil fuel technologies leading to lower emissions;
(e) Promote research and, where suitable, applications of carbon capture and storage technologies;
(f) Promote cooperation with industries in a voluntary programme framework for cleaner fossil fuel technology deployment;
(g) Develop and implement measures to make advanced fossil fuel technologies more accessible and affordable.

5. Nuclear energy technologies


Challenges

20. Nuclear power currently accounts for 16 per cent of the world?s electricity generation. However, nuclear energy is associated with a number of concerns, in particular regarding nuclear safety, spent fuel, waste management, transboundary consequences and decommissioning. The choice of nuclear energy rests with countries. Some countries have been using nuclear energy technologies safely and see no inordinate concern in using and developing additional technology for properly managing and controlling spent fuel and other nuclear materials, and some of these countries consider that the use of nuclear energy should be increased. From their perspective, nuclear power is a sustainable energy source with both economical and environmental advantages. In their view, the removal of the option of nuclear power would remove an important element of flexibility and diversity in energy supply. For those countries that choose nuclear energy, the challenge lies in ensuring environmentally sound, socially acceptable and cost-effective solutions and in addressing nuclear safety and spent fuel and waste management as well as public concerns on these issues. Many countries seek the promotion of international cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Some other countries have decided to phase out nuclear energy from their energy supply mix. Other countries, including several developed countries as well as small island developing States, do not use nuclear energy and do not consider nuclear energy as an appropriate or acceptable source of energy. Many of these countries are of the view that nuclear energy is not compatible with the objectives of sustainable development, and that risks related to safety, waste management and transport and stranded costs remain unsolved. Some are also of the opinion that the use of nuclear energy in general should be phased out as soon as practically possible.

Recommendations

21. Governments, taking into account their national circumstances, are encouraged to:
(a) Support their national efforts, including research, and international cooperation as an effective tool in addressing the issues of nuclear safety and spent fuel and waste management;
(b) Strengthen independent national regulatory agencies and promote international cooperation in nuclear safety;
(c) Promote a high level of nuclear safety;
(d) Improve the transparency of nuclear safety-related decisions, inter alia, through public participation, where appropriate;
(e) Promote public education and participation as well as capacity-building of human resources, in the areas of nuclear energy and waste management;
(f) Further develop technological solutions for long-lived radioactive waste;
(g) Address the safety of their nuclear energy installations, as deemed appropriate, after assessment by national regulatory authorities, including consideration of the option of phasing out and closing, as appropriate, such installations;
(h) Recalling paragraph 8 of the Governing Council of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution GC (44)/RES/17 and taking into account the very serious potential for environment and human health impacts of radioactive wastes, make efforts to examine and further improve measures and internationally agreed regulations regarding safety, while stressing the importance of having effective liability mechanisms in place, relevant to international maritime transportation and other transboundary movement of radioactive material, radioactive waste and spent fuel, including, inter alia, arrangements for prior notification and consultations done in accordance with relevant international instruments.

6. Rural energy


Challenges

22. To implement the goal accepted by the international community to halve the proportion of people living on less than US$ 1 per day by 2015, access to affordable energy services is a prerequisite. Efforts at finding the most appropriate solution to the energy problems of rural areas are hampered by the enormity of the problem, the limited availability of resources and lack of appropriate technologies, the high investment cost and connection fees and insufficient attention to rural development in general. An effective strategy to address the energy needs of rural populations can be to promote the climbing of the energy ladder. This implies both improving ways of using biomass as well as moving from simple biomass fuels to the most convenient efficient form of energy appropriate to the task at hand, usually liquid or gaseous fuels for cooking and heating and electricity for most other uses.

Recommendations

23. Governments, taking into account their national circumstances, are encouraged to:
(a) Strengthen and, where appropriate, establish policies on energy for rural development, including, as appropriate, regulatory systems to promote access to energy in rural areas;
(b) Develop, where necessary, specific and targeted energy service delivery structures adapted to rural needs;
(c) Promote local energy enterprises as employment opportunities, enhance local private entrepreneurs and develop local dealers to sell/maintain equipment building on local retail networks and relationships;
(d) Take into consideration the health and safety concerns of women and children in rural energy programmes;
(e) Promote research and development of the rural energy situation in support of the achievement of international development priorities, particularly poverty eradication;
(f) Promote a sustainable use of biomass and, as appropriate, other renewable energies through improvement of current patterns of use, such as management of resources, more efficient use of fuelwood and new or improved products and technologies;
(g) Establish financial arrangements to make rural energy services affordable to the poor;
(h) Support local groups and/or non-governmental organizations in the promotion and delivery of newly developed environmentally sound technologies, including solar cooker technology;
(i) Develop and utilize indigenous energy sources and infrastructures for various local uses and promote rural community participation, including local Agenda 21 groups, with the support of the international community, in developing and utilizing renewable energy technologies to meet their daily energy needs to find simple and local solutions;
(j) Promote capacity-building in local societies and remove barriers in the implementation of policies for renewable energy development in rural areas;
(k) Promote efforts to address the disproportionate burdens experienced by women in rural areas, including carrying loads of fuelwood over long distances and suffering adverse health effects from prolonged exposure to open fires.

7. Energy and transport


Challenges

24. The transport sector is a major energy consuming sector and the sector for which energy consumption is projected to grow at the highest rate. The challenge is to promote an integrated approach to developing transport systems for sustainable development.

Recommendations

25. Governments, taking into account their national circumstances, are encouraged to:
(a) Manage transportation demand;
(b) Implement better transportation practices, including planning, in both urban and rural contexts, particularly towards public transportation systems and rail or water based freight transport;
(c) Increase fuel efficiency for different transportation modes;
(d) Promote the use of cleaner fuels and transport equipment and assist with the implementation of the recommendations of the General Assembly at its nineteenth special session on the progressive phasing out of the use of lead in gasoline, inter alia, by making available information, technical assistance, capacity-building and funding to developing countries, including the time-bound transfer of technology;
(e) Integrate transport policy in other sustainable development policies.

D. Overarching issues


1. Research and development

26. The enhancement of research and development at the national, regional and international levels of advanced and cleaner fossil fuel technologies, more efficient energy technologies and renewable energy technologies is important for achieving energy for sustainable development for all. Governments are encouraged to develop policies and incentives and to act as a catalyst to foster private sector investment in this field. Increased energy research should also come from public and private investments or through joint public and private partnerships and/or through international and regional cooperation.

2. Capacity-building

27. Lack of local capacity is a major obstacle to the expansion of energy services in the developing world. It is important that institutions, infrastructures and human resources in developing countries be strengthened and that technological leadership in developing countries as well as in countries with economies in transition, with special efforts for least developed countries and small island developing States, be enhanced through international public and private cooperation that supports sustainable development objectives. Developed countries, development banks, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other relevant agencies, including the regional commissions and bilateral development agencies, should focus on capacity-building in development cooperation. A substantially replenished Global Environment Facility (GEF) would, among other things, continue to provide support, within its mandate, for capacity-building and technology transfer to developing countries to advance energy for sustainable development. International financial institutions should, through their lending policies, support capacity-building and technology transfer as well as efforts to identify local needs.

3. Technology transfer

28. In order to promote energy for sustainable development there is a need for favourable access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies, in particular to developing countries, through supportive measures that promote technology cooperation and that should enable the transfer of necessary technological know-how and the building up of economic, technical and managerial capabilities for the efficient use and further development of transferred technology. Technology cooperation involves joint efforts by enterprises and Governments, both suppliers of technology and its recipients. Therefore, such cooperation entails an iterative process, involving government, the private sector and research and development facilities, to ensure the best possible results from transfer of technology. Successful long-term partnerships in technology cooperation necessarily require continuing systematic training and capacity-building at all levels over an extended period of time.

4. Information-sharing and dissemination

29. Information- and knowledge-sharing on technologies and policies facilitate efforts to achieve energy for sustainable development. Relevant information could direct decision makers to suitable policy and energy supply options. Very often, the lack of such information and knowledge precludes countries from adopting new approaches in energy planning and technology applications. Internet-based information could assist such an exchange of information. Developing countries require the assistance of developed countries in the area of information technology.

5. Mobilization of financial resources

30. Financial resources and mechanisms play a key role in the implementation of Agenda 21. In general, the financing for the implementation of Agenda 21 will come from a country?s own public and private sectors. For developing countries, ODA is an important source of external funding and new and additional funding for sustainable development and energy for sustainable development and the implementation of Agenda 21 will be required. Hence all financial commitments of Agenda 21, particularly those contained in its chapter 33 and the provisions with regard to new and additional resources that are both adequate and predictable need to be urgently fulfilled. Renewed efforts are essential to ensure that all sources of funding contribute to economic growth, social development and environmental protection in the context of sustainable development and the implementation of Agenda 21. Many Governments have initiated reforms aimed at improving regulatory frameworks and institutional set-ups in order to attract private sector funding. Specific policies have been introduced to induce the flow of investment capital for energy technology for sustainable development. While more sustainable technologies often have lower operating costs than competing solutions, they sometimes require greater initial investments. Particular attention should therefore be paid to the difficulties of financing these essential infrastructure investments in developing countries. Financing from GEF, within its mandate, could also be considered in this context.

6. Making markets work effectively for sustainable development

31. Policies to reduce market distortions would promote energy systems compatible with sustainable development through the use of improved market signals and by removing market distortions, including restructuring taxation and phasing out of harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts. Such policies should take fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries, with the aim of minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development. Governments are encouraged to improve the functioning of national energy markets in such a way that they support sustainable development, overcome market barriers and improve accessibility, taking fully into account that such policies should be decided by each country, and that its own characteristics and capabilities and different levels of development should be considered, especially as reflected in national sustainable development strategies, where they exist.

7. Multi-stakeholder approach and public participation

32. Energy solutions that are compatible with sustainable development require the participation of all stakeholders and the involvement of the public at large. The capacity of community-based organizations and institutions, including women?s groups, to facilitate participatory approaches to energy for sustainable development should be strengthened, taking into account principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development with full recognition of principles 5, 7 and 11.
E. Regional cooperation

33. The Commission notes with appreciation the efforts made at the regional level and by interest groups to discuss the key issues and formulate regional positions and programmes of action to promote energy for sustainable development. It welcomes the statements that have resulted from these deliberations, recognizing that they provide valuable inputs to the work of the Commission. Moreover, it encourages the Governments in these regional deliberations to actively promote the implementation of the resulting programmes of action. In particular, the Commission recognized the value of regional cooperation in achieving economies of scale in energy services for sustainable development.
34. From these statements, the Commission recommends implementation of the following regional and subregional endeavours that may require subregional, regional, and international support:
(a) Strengthening national and regional energy institutions or arrangements for enhancing regional and international cooperation on energy for sustainable development, in particular to assist developing countries in their domestic efforts to provide modern energy services to all sections of their populations by:
(i) Conducting in depth studies to promote sustainable development in the energy sector in the region, including the social, economic and environmental situation of the region and energy alternatives that support sustainable development;
(ii) Promoting training and exchange of experience and regarding energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced fossil-fuel technologies and lessons learned;
(iii) Strengthening regional networks of centres of excellence for the exchange of information and experience in the research, development and application of energy efficiency technologies, advanced fossil fuel and renewable energy;
(iv) Strengthening and, where appropriate, establishing regional information and dissemination capabilities to provide information to the energy service industry on market opportunities and energy infrastructure and information to consumers on the benefits of energy efficiency measures;
(b) Promoting, at the regional level, rural electrification projects, including, renewable energy technologies, and supporting local efforts to provide energy supplies to their basic infrastructures, as well as integrating energy policies into overall rural development strategies, with emphasis on income-generation, taking into account national circumstances;
(c) Strengthening and facilitating, as appropriate, regional cooperation arrangements for promoting cross-border energy trade, including the interconnection of electricity grids and oil and natural gas pipelines;
(d) Strengthening and, where appropriate, facilitating dialogue forums among regional, national and international producers and consumers of energy; and to that effect, the Commission complements the work of existing international energy forums;
(e) Promoting, where appropriate, cooperation among the concerned countries of the region and with the support of the international organizations to improve development and production of hydro-carbon fields through integrated cost reduction, enhanced operational efficiency, and application of advanced and more environmentally sound technology;
(f) Fostering regional cooperation when undertaking research, development and demonstration of energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced fossil fuel technologies;
(g) Encouraging regional cooperation for capacity-building, including South-South cooperation.

F. International cooperation

35. The Commission recognizes the critical role that international cooperation, including regional cooperation, can play in assisting countries, particularly developing countries, in their efforts to achieve the goals of sustainable development. In particular, international cooperation can be very effective in capacity-building, education, technology transfer, information-sharing, research and development, and the mobilization of resources, including financial resources, taking into account the above-mentioned key issues and energy sources.
36. The Commission recommends, in particular, international cooperation in the following areas:
1. Take concrete measures to maximize existing and to explore ways to increase financial resources and create innovative financing solutions to support energy for sustainable development, including through debt relief and, where possible, debt cancellation, facilitating foreign investment, action to reverse the downward trend in ODA, and strive to fulfil the commitments undertaken to reach the accepted United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP) as soon as possible, the incorporation of energy for sustainable development considerations in bilateral and multilateral development cooperation programmes and in development cooperation programme activities of the international financial institutions and general lending policies, including through addressing the development of energy policy in national poverty eradication policies, where they exist. In this context, consideration should also be given to how, inter alia, ODA can be used to leverage private funds for the development of energy solutions that are compatible with sustainable development, bearing in mind that for developing countries ODA is a main source of external funding.
2. Continuing the dialogue on issues relating to energy for sustainable development within the World Summit on Sustainable Development process, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 55/199.
3. Promoting international public-private partnership cooperation programmes for promoting affordable, energy efficient and advanced fossil fuel and renewable energy technologies.
4. Promote networking between centres of excellence on energy for sustainable development by linking competent centres on energy technologies for sustainable development that could support and promote efforts at capacity-building and technology transfer activities, as well as serve as information clearing houses.
5. Making available grants and loans to developing countries on favourable terms that would permit sharing the cost of the development of energy infrastructure, including rural and remote energy infrastructure, with relevant international lending institutions and private sector investments.
6. Exploring the scope of the use of existing international mechanisms for financing infrastructure development to identify risks and ensure they are managed on a transparent basis, with an effective equitable partnership between investors and host countries, since developing countries do not have institutional structures that are adequately prepared to deal with the scale of commercial risks associated with major energy investments.
7. Supporting the international endeavours to promote equal access and opportunities for women in relation to energy, including credit facilities and involvement in energy policy decision-making processes.

Protection of the atmosphere

General considerations

1. The Commission reiterates the continuing relevance and importance of all the principles agreed in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, in particular the principle that, in view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities, as set out in principle 7 of the Declaration, and emphasize that:
(a) Financial resources and mechanisms play a key role in the implementation of Agenda 21. In general, the financing for the implementation of Agenda 21 will come from a country?s own public and private sectors. For developing countries, official development assistance is a main source of external funding, and substantial new and additional funding for sustainable development and the implementation of Agenda 21 will be required. Hence, all financial commitments of Agenda 21, particularly those contained in chapter 33, and the provisions with regard to new and additional resources that are both adequate and predictable, need to be urgently fulfilled. Renewed efforts are essential to ensure that all sources of funding contribute to economic growth, social development and environmental protection in the context of sustainable development and the implementation of Agenda 21;
(b) There is a need for favourable access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies, in particular to developing countries, through supportive measures that promote technology cooperation and that should enable transfer of necessary technological know-how as well as building up of economic, technical and managerial capabilities for the efficient use and further development of transferred technology. Technology cooperation involves joint efforts by enterprises and Governments, both suppliers of technology and its recipients. Therefore, such cooperation entails an iterative process, involving government, the private sector and research and development facilities, to ensure the best possible results from transfer of technology. Successful long-term partnerships in technology cooperation necessarily require continuing systematic training and capacity-building at all levels over an extended period of time.
2. Decisions concerning atmosphere should reflect the fact that economic development, social development and environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development.
3. The Commission emphasizes that the Earth?s atmosphere must be considered, with the oceans and the land surface, as one of the three basic interacting domains that comprise the global life-support system, and that sustainable development is inextricably linked with the impact that variations in the state of the atmosphere itself can have on human activity, ecosystems and natural disasters. It also notes that human activities and natural disasters contribute to the build-up of atmospheric substances, which has implications for climate change and climate variability, for the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer and for air pollution, in particular transboundary, urban and indoor air pollution.
4. Air pollution has negative impacts on human health, socio-economic development, ecosystems and cultural heritage. Many countries face major challenges in managing the impact of pollution, especially in big cities. Since air pollutants may cause negative environmental impacts, in some cases thousands of kilometres from the source, besides national efforts to reduce pollution there is need for appropriate regional and international cooperation.
5. The developed countries have the greatest share in historical accumulation of atmospheric pollutants. The Commission points out that addressing atmospheric issues involves dealing with many issues and problems, which could involve, inter alia, sustainability of patterns of consumption and production, equity, increasing population, rapid growth of urbanization, migration to expanding urban areas, lack of financial and technological resources and the interdependency of energy, transport and atmosphere. In this regard, the Commission reiterates the importance of provision of support by the international community.

International cooperation

6. Emphasizing the need to provide assistance to developing countries as well as to countries with economies in transition, the Commission recommends that the international community cooperate in order to:
(a) Assist in capacity-building, research, education and training, and institutional strengthening in preventing and combating air pollution, including through human resource development;
(b) Assist in improving the compilation, evaluation and analysis of data on the state of the atmosphere and air pollution and knowledge of developments in policy-making and planning at the national, regional and international levels, and promote the use of appropriate information technology to facilitate access to and sharing of information;
(c) Assist with the development and introduction of cleaner fuels and air pollution abatement technologies, particularly in developing countries, and the sharing of practices and experiences, as appropriate;
(d) Promote the transfer of technologies on favourable terms, including concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed, for cleaner operating vehicles, traffic management, cleaner fuels, including advanced fossil fuels, and alternative fuels, including renewable fuels, inter alia, through the involvement of the private sector;
(e) Promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, particularly in developed countries;
(f) Encourage adequate financing for, inter alia, the promotion and facilitation of the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries;
(g) Promote the identification of financial, technological and institutional barriers and constraints that all countries, in particular developing countries, are facing in combating air pollution, especially in metropolitan areas, with a view to addressing and removing them;
(h) Encourage the continuing close collaboration of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Habitat and other relevant international organizations with Governments in order to assist them to develop strategies to combat indoor air pollution.
7. Noting the importance of several international legal instruments for global cooperation to protect the atmosphere, the Commission decides to:
(a) Encourage further cooperation of relevant international bodies and the promotion of synergies in the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, including the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, especially in Africa;
(b) Note the ongoing negotiation under UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol;
(c) Note that land degradation and desertification contribute to air pollution, and vice-versa, and note the importance of mobilizing adequate financial resources for the implementation of the Convention to Combat Desertification, and urge all Parties to the Convention to carry out their respective obligations;
(d) Encourage countries, to the extent that they have not yet done so, to consider ratifying or acceding to the Montreal Protocol and its amendments as soon as possible;
(e) Encourage all Parties to the Montreal Protocol and its amendments to achieve and maintain compliance with their associated obligations, in particular the adequate and timely replenishment to the multilateral fund under the Montreal Protocol;
(f) Encourage and support the efforts of Parties to the Montreal Protocol to further examine ways of promoting the use of environmentally sound alternatives to ozone-depleting substances that are cost-effective and affordable, and in particular facilitate provision of these alternatives for their use in developing countries;
(g) Support the efforts of the parties to the Montreal Protocol to consider the issue of ozone-depleting substances not yet covered by international regulations;
(h) Encourage all countries to consider signing and ratifying or acceding to the future Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) at the earliest possible occasion;
(i) Encourage the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to consider supporting the increased involvement of academics and experts of developing countries in its work, including in the preparation of its reports and the incorporation of developing country scientific and socio-economic literature therein.
8. With respect to monitoring of the Earth?s atmosphere, the Commission emphasizes the importance of:
(a) Strengthening the systematic observation of the Earth?s atmosphere by the improvement of ground-based monitoring stations, increased use of satellites, and appropriate integration of these observations to produce high-quality data that could be disseminated for the use of all countries, in particular developing countries;
(b) Encouraging the continuation of the work of the critical ground-based measurement programme for total column ozone coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) over the remainder of the decade in order to determine the potential net effects of ozone depletion;
(c) Supporting, as appropriate, international monitoring programmes, such as the Global Climate Observing System;
(d) Encouraging relevant international organizations, especially the United Nations specialized agencies, to jointly plan and implement a strategy for integrated global observations to monitor the Earth?s atmosphere.

Regional cooperation

9. The Commission encourages cooperation on atmosphere-related issues, including technological, financial and technical assistance, taking into account each region?s specific needs and characteristics, aimed at:
(a) Supporting, as appropriate, regional agreements for improved air quality and control of transboundary air pollution;
(b) Improving various methods to quantify and assess air pollution;
(c) Enhancing capacity-building, institutional strengthening and involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the work for improved air quality, taking into consideration the special circumstances and needs of small island developing States.

Recommendations at the national level

10. At the national level, Governments, taking into account their respective national priorities and circumstances, are encouraged, with the support of the international community, to consider, as appropriate:
(a) Improving data compilation and monitoring of air quality;
(b) Publicizing the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop guidelines for air quality and working towards their application;
(c) Further developing and implementing air quality strategies which include air pollution control and air quality management;
(d) Identifying, assessing and addressing the adverse effects of air pollution on human health, socio-economic development, ecosystems and cultural heritage;
(e) Improving policies that reduce environmental health hazards, including through plans and strategies to prevent, mitigate and respond to diseases resulting from indoor and outdoor air pollution, giving special attention to the health of women and children;
(f) Increasing public participation of and access of all persons, including major groups, to information on how to reduce health risks caused by air pollution and ozone depletion;
(g) Encouraging the coordination of national activities on atmospheric issues;
(h) Promoting and giving incentives to the dissemination of best available and affordable techniques to improve air quality;
(i) Enhancing capacity-building, institutional strengthening and involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the work for improved air quality.

Decision 9/4
Information for decision-making and participation


Introduction

1. The availability and uses of information are issues that cut across all chapters of Agenda 21 and its implementation. Countries in all regions of the world have made substantial efforts to improve the quality, coherence and cost-effectiveness of data and information-gathering in the years since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). In this context, it is essential to increase investment in human beings, recognize the value of diverse views and appreciate the power of stakeholder participation if countries wish to take advantage of the opportunities that the new knowledge economy presents. A more effective role for an independent, objective media in support of sustainable development is to be promoted. However, there remain significant gaps in the availability and uses of information in many countries. Those developing countries suffering from inadequate infrastructure and information systems and those parts of the population too poor to tap into new information sources are being left behind. Developing countries, in particular, need technology transfer and capacity-building, and will require adequate, predictable, new and additional financial resources, in accordance with chapter 33 of Agenda 21, and paragraphs 76 to 87 of the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, to modernize or establish their information systems.

Guidance to the multilateral system

2. The Commission, recognizing that enhancing information for decision-making in order to achieve sustainable development will require international cooperation and actions compatible with national priorities and circumstances, and seeking to provide assistance to developing countries as well as countries with economies in transition to achieve sustainable development:

Improvements in functioning, coherence and coordination

(a) Encourages international organizations, including international convention secretariats, to rationalize their requests for information with respect to voluntary national reports so as to avoid duplication and unnecessary burden on countries, particularly developing countries. The international organizations should build on existing efforts to improve the compatibility of data-collection methodologies. The purpose of the data requests should be clearly specified, and there should be a demand driven shift from available information to needed information;
(b) Calls for strengthening access by developing countries to information on sustainable development and measures to ensure that the commercialization of information does not become a barrier to developing countries in this regard;
(c) Encourages greater access to Internet information for persons with disabilities;
(d) Urges strengthened cooperation and coordination among global observing systems and research programmes for integrated global observations, taking into account the need for sharing, among all countries, of valuable data, such as ground-based observation data and satellite remote-sensing data;
(e) Encourages countries and relevant international organizations to develop information systems, which make the sharing of valuable data possible, including the active exchange of Earth observation data;
(f) Calls for promoting the development and wider use by developing countries of innovative technologies, such as global mapping, geographical information systems, video transmission technology and Internet technology for the dissemination and use of satellite data.

Training and capacity-building

(g) Encourages countries, particularly developed countries, with the cooperation of relevant international organizations, as appropriate, to:
(i) Assist in training and capacity-building, particularly in developing countries, which will help promote wider use of information and communication technologies, including satellite data, and their application;
(ii) Assist Governments of developing countries to develop the needed technological infrastructure for sustainable development through, inter alia, transfer of technology, including transfer of necessary hardware and software, and implementation of capacity-building programmes to this effect;
(iii) Assist in strengthening national information systems and statistical agencies to ensure that efforts in data collection and analysis are efficient and effective and able to meet a range of decision-making requirements;
(h) Calls for assisting countries, particularly developing countries, in their national efforts to achieve accurate, long-term, consistent and reliable data and use of satellite and remote-sensing technologies for data collection and further improvement of ground-based observations.

Approaches to indicators of sustainable development

3. The Commission, recognizing that any indicators developed under its work programme on indicators of sustainable development are intended only for use by countries at the national level on a voluntary basis, suited to country-specific conditions, and shall not lead to any type of conditionalities, including financial, technical and commercial:
(a) Reiterates the need for the Commission to keep under review the full range of indicators with full participation and ownership of Member States of the United Nations, with a view to avoiding duplication, as well as ensuring the transparency, consistency and reliability of these indicators;
(b) Emphasizes, in accordance with Council resolution 2000/27, that the indicators used by the United Nations Secretariat in the context of the coordinated and integrated follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits should be developed with the full participation of all countries and approved by the relevant intergovernmental bodies;
(c) Notes the important role that national Governments of the 22 testing countries played in developing its work programme on experimental indicators of sustainable development, and in this context notes the usefulness of the above-mentioned exercise and requests that further work on these and other indicators be undertaken, in accordance with Council resolution 2000/27;
(d) Encourages the further work on these and other indicators for the purpose of sustainable development in line with national conditions and priorities in defining and implementing national goals and priorities for sustainable development, including integration of gender aspects, and encourages the involvement of all national stakeholders, as appropriate;
(e) Stresses the need to further develop indicators on means of implementation to evaluate progress towards conference goals in creating an enabling environment for development;
(f) Urges developed countries and international organizations to assist developing countries, as appropriate, in establishing the basic capacities for the development of national indicators of sustainable development through, inter alia, financial support, capacity-building, technical assistance and twinning arrangements;
(g) Recalls the invitation of the Council to the Statistical Commission to serve as the intergovernmental focal point for the review of the indicators used by the United Nations system for the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits at all levels, and the methodologies employed in formulating them, including in the context of the elaboration of the common country assessment, and to make recommendations with a view to facilitating future consideration by the Council.

Recommendations for activities at the national level

4. At the national level, Governments, taking into account their priorities and respective national circumstances, with the support of the international community, as appropriate, are encouraged to consider to:
(a) Take measures to ensure access to environmental information, public participation in decision-making and access to judicial and administrative proceedings in environmental matters in order to further principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, taking into full account principles 5, 7, and 11 of the Declaration;
(b) Collect and provide access to relevant information for decision-making for sustainable development, including gender-disaggregated data, incorporating indigenous and traditional knowledge into information bases for decision-making, as appropriate;
(c) Establish guidelines to help distinguish between specialized information that can be effectively commercialized from information that should be freely available to the public;
(d) Develop strategies to improve access by all segments of society to information and communication technologies, including the Internet to increase public awareness about sustainable development;
(e) Incorporate data and findings from research and monitoring activities into the decision-making process;
(f) Incorporate sustainable development performance information produced by major groups, including the private sector, in relevant decision-making processes;
(g) Promote, with private sector participation, measures to give developing countries access to information essential for sustainable development;
(h) Foster sustainable development in cooperation with international organizations, by encouraging and providing needed technological infrastructure, in particular to developing countries, and implementing capacity-building programmes that reach out to all sectors of society;
(i) Develop strategic partnerships with non-governmental organizations and the private sector to stimulate innovative data-generation, collection and analysis methods;
(j) Encourage the application of traditional and community knowledge to sustainable resource and community management.

International cooperation for an enabling environment


General considerations

1. A dynamic and enabling international economic environment supportive of international cooperation, particularly in the fields of finance, technology transfer, debt, trade and environmental and social issues, is needed in the pursuit of sustainable development. An enabling domestic environment is also important for sustainable development. Success in meeting these objectives depends, inter alia, on good governance within each country. It also depends on good governance at the international level and on transparency in the financial, monetary and trading systems. This requires a commitment to an open, equitable, rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading and financial system. The Commission reiterates the continuing relevance and importance of all the principles agreed in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, including the principle that, in view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities, as set out in principle 7.
2. There is a need to ensure a balance among economic development, social development and environmental protection since these are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development.
3. The process of globalization is one of the elements of the international economic environment and presents opportunities as well as challenges and risks for sustainable development. Globalization has, in principle, the potential to benefit all of the world?s people. However, the recent period of rapid globalization has seen an increase in inequality among countries and to some extent within countries. This is due primarily to the fact that the benefits of globalization have not been shared in an equitable manner. Answers must be found to the question of how to advance economic growth and sustainable development in all countries, particularly in developing countries, and to spread the benefits of globalization equitably. Expanding international trade and productive investment, and the accompanying technology transfer, while protecting the environment, as well as strengthened partnerships between developed and developing countries and between the State and major groups, in particular the private sector, can contribute to sustainable development. The international community and Governments have a key role in taking steps to help ensure that globalization supports sustainable development.
4. The integrated and coordinated follow-up of all major United Nations conferences and summits, together with the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the international development targets relevant to sustainable development, are of importance.

International cooperation

5. Financial resources and mechanisms play a key role in the implementation of Agenda 21. In general, the financing for the implementation of Agenda 21 will come from a country?s own public and private sectors. For developing countries, ODA is a main source of external funding, and substantial new and additional funding for sustainable development and the implementation of Agenda 21 will be required. Hence all financial commitments of Agenda 21, particularly those contained in chapter 33, and the provisions with regard to new and additional resources that are both adequate and predictable need to be urgently fulfilled. Renewed efforts are essential to ensure that all sources of funding contribute to economic growth, social development and environmental protection in the context of sustainable development and the implementation of Agenda 21.
6. There is a need for favourable access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies, in particular to developing countries, through supportive measures that promote technology cooperation and enable transfer of the necessary technological know-how, as well as building up economic, technical and managerial capabilities for the efficient use and further development of transferred technology. Technology cooperation involves joint efforts by enterprises and governments, including both suppliers and recipients of technology. Such cooperation therefore entails an iterative process involving government, the private sector, and research and development facilities in order to ensure the best possible results from transfer of technology. Successful long-term partnerships in technology cooperation necessarily require continuing systematic training and capacity-building at all levels over an extended period of time.
7. The Commission emphasizes the importance of international cooperation within the framework of Agenda 21 for promoting an enabling environment for sustainable development. Recognizing that achieving sustainable development will require international cooperation and specific actions based on national and regional circumstances, including assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in transition, the Commission encourages the international community to:
(a) Reaffirm that the United Nations has a central role in promoting international cooperation for sustainable development and in promoting policy coherence on global development issues, including in the context of globalization and interdependence;
(b) Support developing countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable development in accordance with their priorities and national programmes and/or strategies for sustainable development;
(c) Take necessary action to reverse the downward trend in ODA and strive to fulfil the commitments undertaken to reach the accepted United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of GNP as soon as possible;
(d) Improve the coordination of ODA, based on recipient country needs, priorities and strategies;
(e) Improve the catalytic role of ODA;
(f) Support efforts to further reform and improve the multilateral financial institutions, including through improved mechanisms for enhanced and effective participation by developing countries and greater transparency in decision-making;
(g) Support the efforts of developing countries to put in place effective financial regulatory systems so that capital and investment flows help maintain financial stability and reduce the risks of excessive international financial volatility in order to achieve sustainable development objectives;
(h) Improve and streamline the functioning of the Global Environment Facility, as a mechanism for financing global environmental aspects of sustainable development, to make it more responsive to the needs and concerns of developing countries, and looks forward to a substantial third replenishment of its financial resources;
(i) Support the full implementation of the enhanced heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) initiative, and in this regard underline the need for the heavily indebted poor countries to take the policy measures necessary to become eligible for the initiative;
(j) Find lasting solutions to the debt problems of heavily indebted low and middle-income developing countries and other heavily indebted middle-income countries which have difficulties in meeting their debt service obligations, including by using, as appropriate, available mechanisms for debt relief such as the Paris Club and other relevant forums;
(k) Assist developing countries seeking integration into the world trading system, notably through the World Trade Organization (WTO), including through assistance in developing the institutional capacity and human resources to participate meaningfully and effectively in multilateral trade negotiations and to implement the agreements reached;
(l) Improve market access for products from developing countries and ensure the effective application of all provisions of the Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and address implementation issues seriously, in particular by making operational and ensuring full implementation of the previously agreed special and differential provisions of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round;
(m) Pursue continued trade liberalization, including through the elimination of trade distorting policies, protectionist practices and non-tariff barriers to trade as a means to, inter alia, improve market access in sectors of export interest to developing countries;
(n) Ensure that trade, environment and development policies are mutually supportive so as to achieve sustainable development. In so doing, policies and measures with a potential trade impact should not be used for protectionist purposes, taking into full account the development needs of developing countries;
(o) Encourage investment in developing countries, including through insurance mechanisms and financial instruments to reduce risk premiums with the aim of contributing to sustainable development;
(p) Develop mechanisms for mobilizing new and additional financial resources, including innovative financial instruments, public-private partnerships and public-public partnerships;
(q) Assist developing countries to have access to environmentally sound technologies and ensure that international assistance for technology transfer is based on national and local needs, pursuant to sustainable development objectives;
(r) Assist developing countries and countries with economies in transition in capacity-building to support technology development and transfer, institutional strengthening and human resource development, including for development planning, investments, financial regulation and infrastructure development, and in capacity-building for the mobilization and allocation of domestic and external financial resources in order to contribute to sustainable development;
(s) Support regional and subregional cooperation, including South-South cooperation, in promoting sustainable development;
(t) Support developing countries in the development and implementation of national sustainable development programmes and/or strategies in order to fulfil the goals of Agenda 21, including through the transfer of environmentally sound technologies on favourable terms, including concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed.

Recommendations at the national level

8. At the national level, Governments, taking into account their national circumstances and priorities and with the support of the international community, as appropriate, are encouraged to:
(a) Create an enabling domestic environment for sustainable development through, inter alia, an equitable and predictable legal framework, capacity-building, including institutional capacity-building, and the implementation of appropriate macroeconomic, social and environmental policies and transparent, effective, participatory and accountable governance, conducive to sustainable development and responsive to the needs of the people, so that domestic and international resources may be effectively mobilized and used for sustainable development;
(b) Formulate and implement national sustainable development programmes and/or strategies, through a national consultative process, as a useful tool in promoting an enabling environment, building on sectoral plans and policies;
(c) Improve opportunities for the private sector, NGOs and other major groups to contribute to sustainable development, economic planning and poverty eradication, including through the formulation and implementation of national sustainable development programmes and/or strategies;
(d) Develop and implement policies, programmes and incentives that integrate economic development, social development and environmental protection.

Decision 9/3
Transport


General considerations

1. The Commission reiterates the continuing relevance and importance of all the principles agreed in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, in particular the principle that, in view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities, as set out in principle 7, and emphasizes that:
(a) Financial resources and mechanisms play a key role in the implementation of Agenda 21. In general, the financing for the implementation of Agenda 21 will come from a country?s own public and private sectors. For developing countries, official development assistance is a main source of external funding, and substantial new and additional funding for sustainable development and the implementation of Agenda 21 will be required. Hence, all financial commitments of Agenda 21, particularly those contained in chapter 33, and the provisions with regard to new and additional resources that are both adequate and predictable need to be urgently fulfilled. Renewed efforts are essential to ensure that all sources of funding contribute to economic growth, social development and environmental protection in the context of sustainable development and the implementation of Agenda 21;
(b) There is a need for favourable access to and transfer of environmentally sound technologies, in particular to developing countries, through supportive measures that promote technology cooperation and that should enable transfer of necessary technological know-how as well as building up of economic, technical and managerial capabilities for the efficient use and further development of transferred technology. Technology cooperation involves joint efforts by enterprises and Governments, both suppliers of technology and its recipients. Therefore, such cooperation entails an iterative process, involving government, the private sector and research and development facilities, to ensure the best possible results from transfer of technology. Successful long-term partnerships in technology cooperation necessarily require continuing systematic training and capacity-building at all levels over an extended period of time.
2. Decisions concerning transport issues should reflect the fact that economic development, social development and environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development.
3. To contribute to sustainable development, transport should, inter alia, be affordable, safe and ensure mobility, should provide access to all sectors of society on an equitable basis, and should be efficient and environmentally sound.
4. The challenges of policy-making in the transport sector are complex and multidimensional. Transport-related activities affect economic growth, social development and the environment in many diverse ways. They pose particular problems in the context of urbanization and a separate set of challenges in rural and remote areas, including in mountainous areas. Land, maritime and aviation transport present different issues for resolution but also need to be considered. The social dimensions of transport include affordability and the impact on, inter alia, community health and safety of transport services, infrastructure, gender and age aspects, employment and labour conditions and providing for those with special needs.
5. There are many facets to the impact on the environment of transport-related activities and infrastructure. Accidents, noise and air pollution are adverse impacts associated with the transport sector. Emissions from vehicles and other modes of transport are harmful to human health and the environment. The demand for transport services is significant and likely to rise. Transport systems affect human settlements in various ways, including urban conditions and land use.
6. A further challenge facing policy makers is the wide variety of stakeholders whose input is relevant in formulating policies and whose assistance is often essential in implementing them effectively. Within and between Governments, coordination and consultation are essential in moving towards sustainable development. Dialogue with major groups is encouraged.
7. Lack of access to transport significantly impacts women?s health and limits their having access to markets and other income-generating activities. Transport should be made available and accessible to women in order to facilitate social and economic progress.
8. The Commission notes that there is a strong need for adequate and efficient, economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound transport systems, especially in developing countries, where accessibility and affordability are important for the eradication of poverty, improving access to social services and access to employment opportunities. Prospects for achieving sustainable development depend on taking transport into account in urban and rural planning, public infrastructure decisions, and policies and measures to eradicate poverty and promote gender equality.
9. The Commission emphasizes that progress towards achieving sustainable development can be facilitated by technical innovations, and encourages research, development and the transfer of cleaner technologies.
10. Aware of the risk to human health, safety and the environment from transboundary movements of hazardous substances, States should act in a manner consistent with their respective obligations under relevant international instruments.

International cooperation

11. The Commission emphasizes the importance of international cooperation within the framework of Agenda 21 in ensuring that transport is considered within the general framework of sustainable development. Recognizing that achieving sustainable development will be strengthened by international cooperation and actions specific to national circumstances and emphasizing the need to and the importance of providing assistance to developing countries as well as countries with economies in transition in order to achieve sustainable development, the Commission recommends that the international community cooperate to:
(a) Facilitate the transfer of cleaner technologies, promotion of energy efficiency and improvement of transport systems for passengers and goods, particularly mass transit, using all relevant financial institutions and mechanisms, and taking fully into account paragraph 1 (a) above;
(b) Encourage international financial institutions and other donors to make transport for sustainable development a priority;
(c) Assist capacity-building, including through human resource development and institutional strengthening, as well as through programmes for developing countries based on training programmes to expand technical and planning skills;
(d) Support partnerships between public and private sectors to promote investment in the transport sector that will facilitate the introduction of environmentally sound technologies and infrastructure consistent with sustainable development goals based on national priorities and tailored to the needs of both women and men;
(e) Assist the development of endogenous capacity for both development and utilization of environmentally sound technologies;
(f) Improve the compilation, assessment and analysis of transport-related information in policy-making and planning at the national, regional and international levels, and encourage the use of the latest technologies to facilitate the sharing of information and databases;
(g) Promote efforts to raise public awareness on transport for sustainable development;
(h) Promote transport policies aimed at improving the safety of transport services;
(i) Promote projects for the construction, modernization and maintenance of public transport and communication infrastructure in rural and remote mountainous areas;
(j) Assist with the implementation of the recommendations of the General Assembly at its nineteenth special session on the progressive phasing out of the use of lead in gasoline and consider reducing the levels of sulphur and benzene in fuel as well as particulates in vehicle exhaust by making available information, technical assistance, capacity-building, and funding to developing countries, including time-bound transfer of technology;
(k) Encourage the use and technology transfer of cleaner fuels;
(l) Promote further international cooperation between Governments, business, research organizations and NGOs to share knowledge of developments in policy-making, planning and technology, and help ensure that the potential benefits of such developments are made widely available.
12. The Commission encourages international organizations, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), as well as Governments, in fostering transport systems that are affordable and do improve safety and reduce pollution and other negative impacts on the environment.
13. The Commission encourages member States of the International Maritime Organization to consider ratifying annex VI to the Marpol International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.
14. The Commission also advocates closer cooperation and coordination among existing organizations involved in transport activities with the goal of enhancing complementarity and minimizing duplication.

Regional cooperation

15. The Commission encourages regional cooperation through the better utilization of the regional commissions, existing regional development banks and existing regional organizations and mechanisms, by:
(a) Considering the exchange of successful experience and the sharing and collection of data as possible areas of cooperation at the regional level, both between and within regions;
(b) Examining the possibility of strengthening existing transboundary agreements for reducing pollution and its implications for health and environment, in accordance with the needs and characteristics of each region;
(c) Financing transport projects that contribute to sustainable development, as appropriate, at the regional level;
(d) Emphasizing the potential of a coordinated approach to integrated land-use planning and infrastructure planning within regions for influencing travel demand and for promoting more sustainable transport patterns.
Recommendations at the national level

16. In integrating economic, social and environmental objectives, it is important that a broad package of policy instruments, including regulation, economic instruments, internalization of environmental cost in market prices, environmental and social impact analysis and information, be worked out in the light of country specific conditions to ensure that approaches are effective and cost-efficient, taking fully into account the economic, social and environmental conditions of all countries, in particular developing countries.
17. At the national level, Governments, taking into account their respective national priorities and circumstances, are encouraged, with the support of the international community, to consider, as appropriate:
(a) Promoting sustainability by integrating economic, social and environmental considerations in decision-making in the transport sector;
(b) Developing transportation systems which are responsive to development needs and, where affordable, reduce negative environmental impacts, including through measures to rationalize traffic flows and road structures, to manage transportation demand and facilitate the flow of and access to goods;
(c) Taking further steps to reduce noise from transport and make use of better vehicle technology, inspection and maintenance schemes for vehicles and cleaner conventional fuels, as well as the development and promotion of alternative fuels;
(d) Encouraging the involvement of the private sector in improvements in efficiency and emission control of each mode of vehicle, including the design of cleaner vehicles;
(e) Promoting capacity-building and appropriate use of information technology, including efforts to improve local institutional capacity and coordination on transport issues and issues that have an impact on transport;
(f) Facilitating, wherever possible, an environment conducive to research, development and technological innovation in the transport sector;
(g) Promoting links between different modes of transport with a view to making more efficient use of existing infrastructure and increasing use of more efficient modes of transportation including intermodal transport systems;
(h) Promoting access to efficient, safe, affordable and environmentally sound public transport systems, including for rural, remote, urban and inter-urban transport services;
(i) Undertaking further measures aimed at promoting road safety;
(j) Maintaining and promoting access to affordable transport systems, and examining the potential for increasing reliance on low-cost, readily available modes of transport, including safe non-motorized transport;
(k) Taking an integrated approach to policy-making on affordable transport services and systems which recognize the potential that integrated land use and infrastructure planning, public transport and goods delivery networks and road planning have as tools for managing demand for transport services and creating more environmentally sound patterns;
(l) Promoting gender-sensitive planning and planning for the aged and disabled for transport services and systems, and increasing participatory, inclusive transport planning approaches which address social needs;
(m) Promoting public participation in transport decision-making involving all stakeholders and access to information, inter alia, to enable consumers to make informed choices;
(n) Encouraging the planning for and provision of safe infrastructure for cycling transport.