Ban Ki-moon must shift the UN's focus to take climate into the mainstream debate on sustainable development
? Ban Ki-moon ends hands-on involvement in climate change talks
The Canc�n climate change conference in December brought the UN negotiating process back from the precipice. It managed to formalise rich country targets tabled a year earlier in Copenhagen, captured major developing country commitments to action and promises significant financial resources for poor nations. But perhaps most significantly Canc�n delivered a roadmap for national action that revolves around national plans, intensified reporting requirements and the potential for future market-based approaches.
In doing this, Canc�n also heralded two significant shifts. First a shift away from a top-down approach where targets are set internationally, towards a far more bottom-up approach that leaves countries free to formulate their own plans, but within a framework that revolves around international monitoring, reporting and verification. Secondly Canc�n moved climate action away from a standalone issue and embedded it in the concept of sustainable growth plans.
From here on the focus needs to be on implementation and convincingly making the green growth case at the national level. No mean feat, given that the concept of green growth enjoys near universal lip-service, while there is little real evidence that it can be made to work in practice.
Advancing the climate negotiations has been a top priority for UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon since the beginning of his tenure and he can rightly claim credit for what has been achieved. Now he must shift the UN's focus to take climate into the mainstream debate on sustainable development.
The 2012 celebration of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development represents a unique lens to bring this new focus. In all probability it will focus on two major themes: green growth and (related) reform of the United Nations system. By strategically broadening his focus from climate to sustainable growth, Ban has the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. He can bring the Canc�n action agenda into the heart of the green growth debate, while at the same time showing that the UN system can help deliver on an agenda that is of direct economic, social and environmental relevance to member countries.
This is sorely needed for two reasons. First because the fight to combat climate change can only be won successfully if the economics of this can be argued and demonstrated convincingly. Secondly because the UN system does need to adjust to the emerging challenges the world is facing. The UN currently has no platform where governments can discuss energy issues. Environment, industry and development policy are fragmented over different institutions. The UN's relationship with its financial arm, the World Bank, also needs significant strength.
A shift in focus now can bring the UN new relevance and an opportunity to force some urgently needed change.
? Yvo De Boer is a senior adviser at KPMG, and formerly executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Source: http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/commentisfree/rss/~3/P4jcFyb646Q/green-growth-ban-ki-moon
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