《21世纪议程》:行动与展望

1992年,联合国环境与发展大会通过了《关于环境与发展的里约热内卢宣言》、《21世纪议程》和《关于森林问题的原则声明》3项重要文件。之后,国际社会为推动"里约精神"的落实做出了积极努力:联合国可持续发展委员会每年举行会议,审议《21世纪议程》的执行情况;许多国家制定了国家和地方层面的《21世纪议程》或可持续发展战略;相关国际组织以可持续发展能力建设为主的活动也十分活跃。人类把发展与环境相协调作为行动准则,各国依据国情制定了促进环境与发展相协调的优先事项,使人类在实现可持续发展的进程中取得了积极进展:全球经济实现了大幅增长,发展中国家在全球经济格局中的地位不断上升;在消除贫困等社会发展方面取得显著效果,全球开始进入城市化时代;全球能源资源供应呈现多元化,资源节约集约利用成效显著。中国在经济发展滞后、贫困现象较严重背景下,承担了全球实施《21世纪议程》的旗舰角色;并依据本国的具体国情,选择性地学习与借鉴,摸索创造出具有自身特色的发展模式和道路,增加了世界可持续发展方式选择的多样性。20年来,尽管各个国家在可持续发展方面采取了积极行动,但是"里约精神"尚未全面转化为行动,在相关国际承诺与公约的履行方面还需付出巨大努力,仍然面临着重大挑战。如:以气候变化为代表的重大全球性环境问题对人类生存构成的直接威胁加大;生态超载背景下的发展空间争夺更趋激烈;全球性民生问题凸显,可持续发展面临的社会风险加大,等等。我们期待:通过"里约+20"大会,使得相关国际制度安排不断形成和完善,可持续发展进一步向全球行动转化;科技创新步伐加快,进一步推动全球向绿色发展转型;加快全球治理体系调整,新兴发展中国家成为全球可持续发展的重要推动力;全球共同努力解决重大资源环境问题,可持续发展领域的国际关系呈现竞争性合作。

Agenda 21:Action and Prospect

In 1992 the UN Conference on Environment and Development endorsed three major documents: Rio de Janeiro Declaration on Environment and Development,Agenda 21 and Statement of Principles on Forestry.Since then,the international community has made active efforts to boost the implementation of the Rio Spirit;the UN Commission on Sustainable Development has held conferences every year and reviewed the implementation of Agenda 21;lots of countries have formulated national and local Agenda 21 or sustainable development strategies;related international organizations have played very active role in increasing sustainable development capacity building.Taking coordination of development and environment as the principle of action,every country,according to its own national conditions,has drawn up priority agenda to push the coordination of environment and development so that the globe has made positive advances in the process of realizing sustainable development;remarkable growth has been achieved in world economy,and the position of developing countries in the global economy has been rising;significant effects have been made in social development such as the eradication of poverty,and the whole globe has begun to enter the era of urbanization;the supply of global energy and resources has shown being diversified,and remarkable achievements have been made in energy saving and comprehensive utilization.Under the background of economic development lag and serious poverty,China has played the flagship role in global implementation of Agenda 21;based on its own real conditions,China has learned selectively from other countries,and pursued creatively the development pattern and path with its own characteristics,thus increasing the diversity of options for world sustainable development.For 20 years,although every country has taken active action in sustainable development,the Rio Spirit has not yet been fully turned into action.Great efforts are needed to implement related international commitments and conventions,and we are still facing major challenges.For example,the threat to human subsistence posed by major global environmental issues represented by climate change has been aggravated;the contest for development space under the background of ecological over-loading has become more fierce;global issues on the livelihood of the people have been highlighted;social risk confronting sustainable development has been intensified,and others.It is expected that through the Rio+20 Conference,related international system arrangement will be continuously formed and perfected,and sustainable development will be further turned into global action;the steps of scientific and technological innovation will be accelerated,further boosting the transformation of the whole globe into green development;the global governance framework should be reformed and strengthened by increasing role of emerging developing countries;the whole globe will make concerted efforts to address major resource and environmental issues;competitive cooperation will prevail in the international relation in the area of sustainable development.