Appendix—Government response
Introduction:
· The
Environmental Audit Committee published its report "Connected
World: Agreeing ambitious Sustainable Development Goals in 2015"
on 15 December 2014. This examined the Government's position and
actions taken so far in the debate on the post-2015 development
framework, as well as the domestic enabling environment for the
successful implementation of sustainable development goals.
· The Government
has noted the Environmental Audit Committee's report and is grateful
for its views. We are committed both to achieving an ambitious
and transformational post-2015 framework, and also to ensuring
that the UK adheres to the principles of sustainable development
domestically.
· The Government
has a strong record of leadership internationally as well as a
genuine commitment to sustainable development at home, and we
believe that the Committee's analysis of both of these aspects
of Government policy is overly negative. The UK wants a universal,
post-2015 framework that is implementable and drives poverty eradication
and sustainable development. This has not been adequately recognised
by the committee.
· The Committee
was particularly critical of the Government in a number of areas,
including the UK view of the 17 goals from the Open Working Group
report, the domestic focus on environmental sustainability and
the Government's views on the communication of the Sustainable
Development Goals. These are elaborated upon below.
Response to Recommendations
1. The Government, despite its innovative work
on developing Natural Capital Accounts, is not currently showing
sufficient leadership around biodiversity and environmental protection.
It should actively champion this area in the Sustainable Development
Goals in international negotiations, so that the 'green thread'
that runs throughout the Goals leads to real improvements in environmental
protection and improved outcomes by 2030.
(Paragraph 18)
· The
UK supports the integration of environmental sustainability, including
biodiversity, throughout the Goals framework. This is important
if we are to achieve our desired outcomes for poverty eradication
and sustainable development.
· At the recent
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity,
the UK argued for the importance of integrating biodiversity into
the SDGs and supported the Gangwon Declaration on Sustainable
Development which calls for 'further integration and mainstreaming
of biodiversity in the post-2015 development agenda'.
· This Government
has put an ambitious programme of environmental policies in place
to protect the environment for future generations, including those
set out in our landmark White Paper on the natural environment,
published 2011. As the Committee acknowledges, this includes innovative
work on developing natural capital accounts, an area where the
UK is leading internationally.
2. The Government should publically support a
separate climate change goal in the SDGs given the importance
of reaching an ambitious global climate change agreement in Paris
next year. It should also re-consider and rapidly phase out its
continued subsidies to carbon intensive energy sources in line
with the commitments made at Rio +20 and the Secretary General's
call to phase out "harmful subsidies". The Government
needs to do more domestically to support the transition to a low
carbon economy, including urgently working with the FCA to make
it easier for community groups to register as energy co-operatives.
The Government should clearly set out the steps it is taking to
achieve this. (Paragraph 27)
CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE SDGS:
· The
UK supports visible integration of climate and environment across
the post-2015 framework. Tackling climate change, promoting good
governance and eradicating poverty are inextricably linked. The
post-2015 development framework should complement and support—but
not duplicate—international climate negotiations already
underway. The framework must therefore include measures to fully
and visibly integrate climate change action, including: ambitious,
climate-resilient goals and targets on areas such as energy, water,
agriculture, oceans, deforestation, disaster resilience, natural
resource management, and others as relevant; the 'below 2 degrees'
objective; and a strong framing narrative on the importance of
addressing climate change. We will continue to make the case for
this vigorously as negotiations progress.
· The UK is already
playing a leading role in championing sustainable development.
Between 2011-12 and 2015-16 the UK is investing £3.87bn through
our International Climate Fund (ICF), a joint fund managed by
DFID, DECC and DEFRA, to help poor countries adapt to climate
change, undertake low carbon development, and address deforestation.
· We are working
with community energy stakeholders and the Financial Conduct Authority
(FCA) to ensure the right balance is struck between consumer/investor
protection and realising the full potential of community energy.
ENERGY SUBSIDIES:
· As
set out in the Government's evidence to the Committee's inquiry
into Energy Subsidies in the 2013-14 Session and its response
to the Committee's subsequent recommendations, the UK does not
subsidise carbon intensive energy sources.
· It should be
clear that the UK does not have any fossil fuel subsidies. Along
with our EU partners in the G20, the UK defines fossil fuel subsidy
as "any government measure or programme with the objective
or direct consequence of reducing, below world-market prices,
including all costs of transport, refining and distribution, the
effective cost of fossil fuels paid by final consumers, or of
reducing the costs or increasing the revenues of fossil-fuel producing
companies".
3. The Government's renewed focus on income poverty
should not view economic development in isolation, but equally
consider the environmental and social impacts of this economic
activity and promote low carbon growth. It should demand the highest
standards of environmental protection in trade deals, and ensure
unequivocally that there is no potential for these to be undermined
through dispute settlement mechanisms. (Paragraph 29)
· Trade
plays a vital role in the development of low income countries
through job creation, increasing competitiveness and encouraging
innovation. Maximising the important contribution that trade can
make to sustainable development is a key policy objective that
the UK pursues multilaterally through the World Trade Organisation
(WTO) and in all its bilateral and regional trade negotiations.
We agree with the recommendation that the Government should demand
high standards of environmental protection in trade deals. For
example, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
will not erode regulatory standards in the EU or the US; the high
environmental standards and targets which we have in place are
not on the negotiating table. The UK and the EU are also part
of the negotiations for an Environmental Goods Agreement with
13 other WTO members and we are seeking an ambitious agreement
which will lower tariffs on a broad range of environmental goods.
4. The UK should lead international efforts to
improve air quality in cities in developing countries, where an
increasing number of people live. This could include international
knowledge sharing around effective low emissions zones, low-emissions
transport, and vehicle and fuel standards to save lives. (Paragraph
31)
· The
World Health Organisation (WHO) identifies air pollution as one
of the main avoidable causes of disease and death (WHO, 2014).
The UK is playing a leading role working with other donors and
international organisations to tackle air pollution. DFID is contributing
to the UK's efforts to improve household (indoor) and ambient
(outdoor) air pollution in developing countries, the impacts of
which affect human health and contribute to climate change.
· Most sources
of ambient and household air pollution are directly influenced
by the choice of energy technologies and fuels used, the energy
efficiencies of homes and transport systems, and patterns of energy
transmission and distribution. Through the UK's International
Climate Fund (ICF), the UK is supporting the development and implementation
of clean-energy technologies in developing countries, including
renewable energies such as solar and wind power, to reduce energy
poverty and facilitate a shift to cleaner energy sources, particularly
at community and household levels. The use of these technologies
is helping to reduce ambient air pollution.
· At the household
level, DFID is working in partnership with others to reduce the
4.3 million deaths that WHO estimate result annually from indoor
air pollution, in cities and rural areas. This work is in support
of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC) goal of 100m
households adopting clean cookstove technologies and fuels by
2020. The UK committed £31m support to the clean cooking
sector to support Phase II of a global effort spearheaded by the
Alliance to reduce indoor air pollution.
· The UK is a
Party to and active participant in the UNECE Convention on Long-range
Transboundary Air Pollution and its Gothenburg Protocol which
aims to limit and gradually reduce air pollution including long-range
transboundary air pollution. Parties develop policies and strategies
to combat the discharge of air pollutants through exchanges of
information, consultation, research and monitoring. The Convention
is active in sharing information with other regions and organisations.
The UN Environment Assembly adopted a Resolution in 2014 on "Strengthening
the role of the United Nations Environment Programme in promoting
air quality" (Decision 1/7) and the WHO are also considering
adopting a resolution on air pollution. The UK Government will
continue to work with these organisations to share information
on UK experiences in improving air quality.
· The UK is also
a partner of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), a partnership
of 45 countries and 53 organisations seeking to reduce emissions
of short-lived climate pollutants. The CCAC is undertaking a number
of specific initiatives that will reduce air pollution in cities
in developing countries, including: reducing emissions from household
cooking and domestic heating (including clean cookstoves); reducing
black carbon emissions from heavy duty diesel vehicles and engines;
reducing emissions from waste; mitigating pollution from brick
production; and most notably an urban health initiative.
5. The Government should accelerate its work on
resource efficiency and the circular economy, including through
negotiating ambitious targets within the European Union. The Government
should expand the requirement for corporate sustainability reporting
beyond carbon emissions. Defra should ensure that this agenda
is embraced across Government, and DFID should review its aid
programmes to find opportunities to fund circular economy approaches.
As it considers how best to support its future aid programmes
to promote economic growth, it needs to learn lessons from the
environmental degradation that has frequently accompanied rapid
economic growth. It should ensure that all projects funded with
UK aid, from international to community level, including the components
implemented by delivery partners, are screened for climate and
environment risks. It should also ensure that economic development
related programmes fully safeguard biodiversity and tread a new
path which de-couples economic growth from natural resource use.(Paragraph
38)
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
· We
agree on the need to support future actions to reduce production
and consumption impacts, to improve the use of natural resources,
and reduce negative impacts on eco-systems. That is why we welcomed
the fact that a number of measures in the Commission Communication
on the Circular Economy (published in July 2014) to enable a more
circular economy are similar to actions we are already taking.
· The possible
release of new proposals by the Commission later in 2015 provides
an opportunity to build on previous work which could focus more
on measures such as increased resource efficiency and moving materials
up the waste hierarchy. We will continue to work closely with
the Commission, the European Parliament and other Member States
to ensure a balanced package of proposals which is ambitious,
evidence based and feasible for all Member States. Where targets
are being proposed we will want to make sure that they are underpinned
by indicators that are robust and fit-for-purpose.
· A growing number
of businesses are recognising the benefits of reporting on their
sustainability performance. We encourage more UK companies to
consider doing this.
BIODIVERSITY & CLIMATE SCREENING & ENVIRONMENTAL
DEGRADATION IN DFID PROGRAMMES
· DFID
addresses climate and environmental risk, including biodiversity
safeguards and the impact of economic development on natural resource
use in relation to its programmes, in its internal guidelines.
The guidelines contain a set of quality standards that guide decisions
at each point in the programme cycle. It is the responsibility
of the DFID head of department or country office, and Senior Responsible
Owners (SROs) of the programme to consider these standards and
ensure they are appropriately implemented according to their specific
context and type of portfolio and programme.
· The key considerations
in relation to climate and environmental issues are:
i. To reduce risk and to ensure sustainability
and resilience are embedded in operations and programmes.
ii. Ensure that our interventions do not sustain,
create or exacerbate resource scarcity, climate change issues
or facilitate environmental damage and lead to increasing communities'
vulnerabilities to shocks and trends ensuring sustainability and
resilience in the long term.
6. The UK is right to have a focus on completing
the task of the MDGs in eliminating 'extreme poverty', but this
can best be achieved as part of a wider focus that includes tackling
inequality to help deal with both poverty and social cohesion.
The UK should support the inclusion in the SDGs of a range of
inequality indicators to measure and monitor inequality, and should
design programmes to tackle both extreme poverty and inequality
simultaneously. (Paragraph 45)
· The
UK government has consistently argued that the post-2015 agenda
must be focused on the eradication of extreme poverty with sustainable
development at the core. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
have driven remarkable results on poverty eradication and human
development, and the Sustainable Development Goals must build
on this success and also go beyond it to address the shortcomings
of the MDGs, including moving beyond measurement by averages.
· The best way
to confront inequality in the post-2015 framework is through a
sophisticated focus on measurement enabled by the "data revolution".
This means focusing on the principle of "leaving no one behind"
as outlined in the report of the UN Secretary-General's High Level
Panel on the post-2015 agenda. No target across the framework
should be considered achieved unless it has been met by all sectors
of society. In order to achieve this we must ensure the full disaggregation
of data by gender, geography, income, disability and other categories
to monitor progress across the post-2015 goals and targets.
7. It is important that the UK respects the wider
international consensus established around the 17 Open Working
Group goals, in order for the process to have national ownership
and legitimacy. The Government is right to seek an SDG framework
that can be compellingly communicated, but any continued argument
for a smaller number of Goals, in the face of the Secretary General's
recent guidance, risks creating unnecessary divisions between
countries when it should be seeking to build support for ambitious
action. At the forthcoming European Council, and beyond, the Government
should push for an EU position which favours a comprehensive coverage
in the SDGs of all pillars of sustainable development as set out
in the Open Working Group's 17 Goals. (Paragraph 53)
· The
UK Government has repeatedly stated its support for the breadth
of the content of the Open Working Group report. However a framework
of 17 goals and 169 targets is not implementable for either the
UK or for developing countries, and will not drive the action
we need to see on poverty eradication or sustainable development.
The power of the MDGs was in their simplicity and in their ability
to be implemented. It is precisely because the UK wants to build
support for ambitious action that we support a shorter, fully
implementable list of goals and targets and as intergovernmental
negotiations progress through 2015 the UK will continue arguing
for a framework that is workable and implemented by all Member
States.
· The UK Government
supports a strong and universal framework that drives meaningful
action across the entire agenda, rather than countries picking
and choosing which goals they implement. In order for this to
work, it is critical that the goals and targets we agree on are
implementable in their entirety by all countries.
· The UN Secretary-General's
synthesis report published in December is a useful contribution
to the discussion, in particular the six essential elements and
the suggestion of the technical review of targets by the UN system.
We are working with partners in the EU and the UN to work out
the best way to take these forward through the intergovernmental
process.
8. Defra should now start to play a stronger role,
in collaboration with the Cabinet Office, in working with all
departments, including the Treasury, to consider the domestic
implications of the goals and pursue policies consistent with
sustainable development. (Paragraph 57)
· DFID
and DEFRA, working with Cabinet Office, are engaging with all
relevant Departments including the Treasury to assess the domestic
implications of the goals and targets, including assessing how
these may be best monitored and implemented.
9. The Government should report clear annual results
summaries for the International Climate Fund, which detail the
impacts that the programmes have had. It should particularly ensure
that expenditure on forestry programmes has clear impact indicators.
(Paragraph 65)
ICF REPORTING
· All
ICF programmes are subject to mandatory Annual Reviews and Programme
Completion Reviews which are published each month on the 'Development
Tracker' web pages. In line with recommendation 6 of the recent
review by the Independent Commission on Aid Impact (ICAI) of the
ICF, we undertook to: 'Update the ICF 'GOV.UK' website regularly
with improved quality and transparency of public information on
the ICF.' ICAI stated that the ICF is "well placed to deliver
its ambitious objectives" and is "on track to achieve
substantial impact".
FOREST INDICATOR
· All
ICF funded forestry programmes are required to report against
one or more impact indicators. These are designed to measure the
benefits the programmes generate for forest-dependent people,
ecosystem services, and avoided deforestation and forest degradation.
As we and other donors have learnt, avoided deforestation is difficult
to attribute to a particular intervention. We are therefore undertaking
research that will allow us to better understand the scope and
limitations of this impact indicator as currently defined in order
to further strengthen our ability to monitor and report on the
UK's contribution to tackling global deforestation.
10. The Government should publish an annual report
outlining its spending on biodiversity- related projects overseas,
and the impact these have had. It should prioritise funding to
support the establishment of Marine Protected Areas in the UK
overseas territories, such as Pitcairn, and explore with the World
Bank and others the most appropriate ways of sustainably financing
and managing these. (Paragraph 68)
· The
UK submits annual returns to the OECD on funding for biodiversity
as part of its reporting on UK Official Development Assistance.
The UK also reports regularly to the Convention on Biological
Diversity outlining the financial support given to developing
countries for biodiversity related activities. This includes
funding under the UK's Darwin Initiative, which provides up to
£6 million per annum for projects in developing countries,
jointly funded by Defra and DFID. The Overseas Territories Environment
and Climate Fund—also known as Darwin Plus—provided
funding of up to £2 million per annum for environmental projects
in the UK's Overseas Territories, including marine projects.
Darwin Plus is funded by Defra, DFID and FCO.
· HMG supports
MPAs where scientifically justifiable, and where a monitoring
and enforcement regime can be established and funded. HMG has
already set up MPAs in the British Indian Ocean Territory; British
Antarctic Territory; and South Georgia & the South Sandwich
Islands. The first two are full no-take MPAs, the latter (South
Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands) is a sustainable-use
MPA, where highly regulated fishing is permitted. No decision
on an MPA for Pitcairn has been taken.
· Pitcairn Island
Council has ruled in favour declaring a full no-take MPA. To
deliver this, additional funding would be required for effective
monitoring and surveillance. We need to understand the scale and
shape of illegal fishing in order to plan an effective response.
11. The ONS and Defra (as the lead department
for domestic sustainable development) need ensure that the appropriate
data and systems are in place to monitor and report on the UK's
delivery of SDG targets. It should review the UK's Sustainable
Development Indicators and ensure that these reflect the key nationally-relevant
SDG indicators, including on sustainable consumption and production.
(Paragraph75)
· We
agree that the UK needs to have the right data and systems in
place to monitor and report on the UK's delivery of the SDG targets.
The UK's Sustainable Development Indicators (SDIs) are overseen
by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and provide an overview
of national progress towards a more sustainable economy, society
and environment. The SDIs are one potential mechanism to help
track delivery against the SDGs in the UK and we will be reviewing
them in light of the final set of agreed targets.
· ONS, together
with DEFRA and other Government departments have been working
since 2013 to examine appropriate data to monitor SDGs. Alongside
relevant policy leads, ONS is the lead for monitoring and reporting
SDGs: planning for a reporting system is also underway.
12. Given the global significance of the Sustainable
Development Goals and their powerful vision for the next 15 years,
the Government should do more to engage young people in the UK
with the new goals, and with the concepts of sustainable development.
This should include taking Education for Sustainable Development
seriously, and integrating it into the National Curriculum, and
supporting the NUS' proposals for a new accreditation scheme and
questions in the National Students Survey. It should look to maximise
the value of the International Citizens Service, by integrating
the proposed Sustainable Development Goals into the material that
young people use to prepare for their period of ICS service, and
supporting them in sharing these messages about sustainable development
more widely in their communities. The Government should also review
the channels it uses to promote the ICS to ensure it has as wide
a geographic reach across the UK and across all parts of society
as possible. It should embrace creative and powerful ways of communicating
the urgency of sustainable development, such as the approach taken
by the Hard Rain project, and its proposal to promote the SDGs
simultaneously in universities around the world. It needs to engage
all stakeholders, including businesses, schools and higher and
further education colleges, and NGOs to raise awareness in the
run up to the UN General Assembly and Paris Climate Change conference
at the end of 2015, and beyond. (Paragraph 83)
· The
UK has been at the forefront of efforts to engage civil society
and to communicate the goals to as wide an audience as possible.
· From the initial
stages of the High-Level Panel, the UK has long championed the
role of civil society, business and citizens alike within the
post-2015 process. We fully supported, and led outreach efforts
undertaken by the High-Level Panel Members and have continued
to engage with civil society in the UK and internationally, and
have championed their role and participation in the intergovernmental
negotiations.
· To facilitate
the communication of the SDGs to young people, in 2012, we organised
a schools' competition, inviting pupils to put forward proposals
for the SDGs. We continue to engage regularly with groups such
as Restless Development, who have facilitated UK outreach to young
people and who have helped us to ensure that young people have
a platform to present their views to decision makers. This includes
an event that the UK Prime Minister co-hosted with the President
of Ghana and Transparency International at the UN General Assembly
in September 2013 on anti-corruption in the post-2015 development
agenda.
· We believe
that this framework will touch on all citizens and we will continue
to work with key partners to raise the profile of the SDGs. A
global campaign movement 'Action 2015' is actively underway and
the UK supports its objectives.
NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY
· The
Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is planning
a consultation on changes to the National Student Survey in the
autumn. This will provide an opportunity to raise issues around
proposed changes to the survey.
EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
· The
geography national curriculum key stage 3 already requires pupils
to "understand how human and physical processes interact
to influence, and change landscapes, environments and the climate;
and how human activity relies on effective functioning of natural
systems".
INTERNATIONAL CITIZEN SERVICE (ICS)
· The
current ICS pre-departure training covers a wide range of areas
including learning about the Millennium Development Goals and
wider development issues. As the momentum builds towards the Sustainable
Development Goals the material will be updated to ensure that
volunteers understand the goals and are able to share them with
those in their own communities and the communities in which they
are placed.
· ICS is assessed
against the diversity of the UK volunteer cohort, taking into
account geographical spread, gender, ethnicity and disability.
To date the scheme has met its primary diversity target which
is to be broadly representative of the UK population. The regional
spread of UK ICS volunteers is published annually on the gov.uk
website.
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