UN launches high-level panel on sustainability

Finland’s President Tarja Halonen and South African President Jacob Zuma chair the 21-member High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability. It brings together representatives from government, the private sector and civil society in countries rich and poor.

Mr. Ban stressed, that it is essential to promote low-carbon growth and enhance resilience to climate change’s impacts, as well as to tackle the intertwined challenges posed by poverty, hunger, water and energy security. The Secretary-General said that he expects the new Panel to come up with practical solutions to address the institutional and financial arrangements necessary to put a new scheme into practice.

The new body is expected to deliver its final report by the end of next year, ahead of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development scheduled for 2012, as well as annual conferences of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).