OPTIONS PAPER PRESENTED BY CO-CHAIRS OF INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS ON ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES

14 June 2007

The Options Paper, in the words of Co-Chair Peter Maurer, should be seen as a “flexible framework for decision-making” in regard to the UN’s environmental activities. The paper presents 7 building blocks constituting “ambitious incrementalism” to strengthen international environmental governance (IEG). In the presentation of these building blocks, Maurer clarified, no hierarchy should be assumed. The Options Paper further includes a chapter on the broader transformation of the IEG system, including the possibility of transforming the UNEP into a United Nations Environment Organization. The Co-Chairs proposed that the informal consultations be continued and that a decision should be taken no later than by the end of the 62nd session of the General Assembly on the terms of reference for formal negotiations on a broader transformation of the IEG system.

In September 2007, the Co-Chairs will convene a meeting to receive responses from Member States to the Options Paper. In the meantime, the Co-Chairs will be available during the summer in New York for bilateral discussions.

In response to the presentation of the Options Paper, Colombia raised the issue of having two parallel discussions (the informal consultations and the system-wide coherence follow-up process) on environmental activities, leading to duplication. A convergence of the two separate processes or clarification of the mandate of each process was suggested.

The Co-Chairs indicated that planned discussions on Climate Change clearly constitute a different and distinct debate.