The document frames an online discussion on environmental sustainability in the post-2015 development agenda. It provides background on the World We Want initiative which aims to gather citizen input to guide a new UN development framework. The discussion will focus on lessons from the MDGs, particularly MDG7 on environmental sustainability, which is mostly off track. Key shortfalls of the MDGs included weak linkages between goals and lack of data. Elements of successful environmental integration included comprehensive planning, green policies, stakeholder involvement, and international cooperation.

1. THE WORLD WE WANT
E-Discussion Framing Paper:
Environmental Sustainability for the World We Want: Moving From the
MDGs to Post-2015
29 January 2013
The World We Want initiative aims to gather the priorities of people from every corner of
the world and help build a collective vision that will be used directly by the United Nations and
World Leaders to plan a new development agenda launching in 2015, one that is based on the
aspirations of all citizens.
The World We Want web platform is a joint initiative between the United Nations and Civil
Society. The World We Want is a growing movement of people all over the world contributing
their vision towards an overall plan to build a just and sustainable world free from poverty. It
will help ensure that global efforts to secure a post-2015 development agenda are also based on
the perspective of people living in poverty.
Leading up to the year 2015, the United Nations is planning a series of consultations to help
shape the post-2015 agenda with support from Civil Society coalitions including the Global Call
to Action Against Poverty, World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS) and the Beyond
2015 Campaign, who have been organizing Civil Society engagement in post-2015 discussions.
This process includes the creation of a High Level Panel, up to 100 national consultations, 11
thematic consultations, and a Global Online Conversation - all of which will contribute to a vision
for The World We Want beyond 2015.
One of the eleven major global thematic consultations is on environmental sustainability.
The purpose of this framing document is to propose questions and background to help prompt a
global conversation on how lessons from the MDGs and MDG7 can be considered in a post-2015
development framework. This e-discussion will run from February 4 – March 1, 2013 on
www.worldwewant2015.org/sustainability.
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2. Introduction
This paper frames the first e-discussion for the post-2015 thematic consultation on
environmental sustainability to be launched February 4 – March 1, 2013, on
www.worldwewant2015.org/sustainability. .
A series of questions are provided to frame the e-discussion which will focus on learning from
the MDGs and MDG7 to help frame environmental sustainability in the post-2015 agenda.
Additional background is also provided to help inform the dialogue including an An overview of
where we stand with MDG7 and environmental sustainability highlighting progress and areas
where MDG7 is off-track. This is followed by an outline of various success factors for better
environmental sustainability in a future development framework and a number of underlying
factors explaining shortfalls of the MDGs, and MDG7 in particular. For the world to meet the
environmental sustainability challenge adjustments (or shifts) towards lower intensity
development paths, greener growth, improved waste management at all levels, and more
sustainable production and consumption patterns are needed.
This paper provides a critique of the shortfalls in the design and implementation of the MDGs
and MDG7 specifically. It also discusses the evolution and implementation of the global
development agenda, in the context of MDGs, as a basis for helping us move towards post-2015
goals; to identify the gaps and determine how to better integrate environmental sustainability
based on lessons learned from the MDGs. This paper has been prepared to frame some
questions which touch on a backwards review of the MDGs and how this can we used to inform
the forward looking process for integrating environmental sustainability in the post-2015
agenda. The framing questions follow this introduction.
The paper primarily borrows conclusions from two UN publications on MDG7, namely the 2010
UNDG Thematic Paper on Environmental Sustainability prepared by 14 UN agencies under UNEP
leadership for the 2010 MDG Summit and a 2006 UNDP report on Making Progress on
Environmental Sustainability that draws lessons and recommendations from a review of over
150 MDG country experiences. Additional information has been extracted from the discussion
notes that have been submitted on the Post-2015 Environmental Sustainability Thematic
Consultation website.
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3. Framing Questions
Week 1: Capitalizing on the MDGs and MDG7 Achievements and Addressing the Gaps
How and to what extent can we build on lessons learned from MDG7's achievement in
developing our post-2015 development agenda?
How can the post-2015 agenda address any gaps related to environmental sustainability
in the overall MDG framework?
Week 2: Addressing Development Challenges in a Changing World
Which global trends and uncertainties may influence how environmental sustainability
is framed in the international development agenda over the next 10-30 years?
What new elements and considerations would need to be incorporated into the post-
2015 agenda for it to be environmentally sustainable and adequately capture the
essence of the world’s evolving development/financial/social/ economic/
environmental/etc challenges?
Week 3: Framing Environmental Sustainability in the Post-2015 Agenda
In the spirit of the outcomes of Rio+20, what are the barriers and enablers to gradually
moving towards environmental sustainability?
Building on the MDGs and the outcomes of Rio+20, how would you envisage a
conceptual framework for the post-2015 agenda that can help drive a transition to an
environmentally sustainable future? What are the key characteristics?
Week 4: Consensus and Divergence
The final week will wrap up the e-discussion by identifying areas where there seems to be
evolving consensus and also areas where further dialogue is needed. The moderators will pose
a series of questions for the final week based on the outcomes of the first 3-weeks of the
discussion.
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4. Background and Context
Many have recognized the value of the MDGs, including MDG7, in terms of their shared focus on
poverty reduction, their globally accepted set of indicators with clear goals, targets and
timeframes to support policy monitoring and accountability, and the comparatively high level of
visible political commitment attached to the Goals1. Many have also acknowledged that the
MDGs provide a common framework and an improved coordination opportunity for
development actors and promote concrete actions to address human development issues2. “The
MDGs have rallied different stakeholders under a single umbrella and created global consensus
and contributed for the betterment of life.”3 The experience also shows that “global consensus
around environment goals can be achieved, and that goal-setting can be a powerful way of
motivating, shaping and driving actors to achieve positive outcomes.”4 However, many have
also argued that the MDGs had important shortcomings which could have been avoided if a
more inclusive process had led to their design and content.5
Although progress was achieved to reach some of the MDGs, achievement of MDG7 on
environmental sustainability by 2015 is mostly off track.6 While there is progress in some
indicators others are critically lagging behind highlighting that progress on environmental
sustainability requires a change in the way that development occurs: one that results in lower
carbon intensity development paths; greener growth; improved waste management at all levels;
and, more sustainable consumption and production patterns7.
The next set of development goals will no doubt need to be embedded into the broader
framework of sustainable development, which demonstrates the values and socio-economic
benefits of environmental sustainability to countries and at the global level, and points to
responsibilities of all countries.8
1
UN DESA and UNDP. 2012. Synthesis of National Reports for Rio+20:
http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/742RIO+20_Synthesis_Report_Final.pdf
2
UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda (2012). (See reference above).
3
Geremew Sahilu Gebrie, submitted discussion note
4
Hui-Chi Goh, submitted discussion note
5
Realizing the Future We Want for All, Report to the Secretary General; UN System Task Team on the Post
2015 Development Agenda, New York June 2012.
6
Thematic paper on MDG7 Environmental Sustainability prepared by the UNDG Task Force on MDGs for
the 2010 Global MDG Summit
7
Thematic paper on MDG7 Environmental Sustainability prepared by the UNDG Task Force on MDGs for
the 2010 Global MDG Summit
8
Realizing the Future We Want for All, Report to the Secretary General; UN System Task Team on the Post
2015 Development Agenda, New York June 2012.
4

5. MDG 7: Where Do We Stand?
The below table summarizes the MDG 7 targets and indicators:
MDG 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability
Targets Indicators
Target 7.a 7.1: Proportion of land area covered by forest
Integrate the principles of sustainable development 7.2: CO2 emissions, total, per capita and per $1
into country policies and programmes and reverse GDP (PPP)
the loss of environmental resources. 7.3: Consumption of ozone-depleting substances
Target 7.b 7.4: Proportion of fish stocks within safe biological
Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a limits
significant reduction in the rate of loss 7.5: Proportion of total water resources used
7.6: Proportion of terrestrial and marine areas
protected
7.7: Proportion of species threatened with
extinction
Target 7.c 7.8: Proportion of population using an improved
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without drinking water source
sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic 7.9: Proportion of population using an improved
sanitation sanitation facility
Target 7.d 7.10: Proportion of urban population living in
Achieve significant improvement in the lives of at slums
least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020
To measure achievements of the MDGs global MDG Reports have been carried out every year
since 20059. The 2012 Report shows that contributions of national Governments, the
international community, civil society and the private sector will need to intensify to meet the
challenge of inequality, food security, gender equality, maternal health, rural development,
infrastructure, environmental sustainability, and responses to climate change10. Annex A
provides extracts from the latest progress charts for MDG7 from the 2011 and 2012 MDG
Reports.
Examples of the global progress towards achieving some MDG 7 targets include: the Montreal
Protocol has resulted in the phasing out of the production and consumption of over 98% of all
controlled ozone-depleting substances (ODS); the world has met the drinking water target 5
years ahead of schedule, however issues of inequality remain in distribution. Furthermore, as of
2008, 73 countries have protected 10% or more of their national surface area, with 18 nations
reaching protected area coverage of 25% or more.
9
Global assessment reports (from 2005 to 2012) are available at: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/reports.shtml
10
United Nations. 2012. The Millennium Development Goals Report 2012:
http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2012/English2012.pdf
5

6. Still, the target on reducing the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010 has not been met. Overall
biodiversity is still declining and species are increasingly threatened: nearly 17 000 plant and
animal species are known to be threatened with extinction, and major threats and drivers of
biodiversity loss, such as including over-consumption, population pressure, habitat loss, invasive
species, pollution and climate change, are not yet being effectively tackled.
Regarding the proportion of land area covered by forest, some 13 million hectares of the world’s
forests are still being deforested each year even if the rate of net loss of forest area has fallen
since the 1990-2000 period at the global level. Furthermore, primary forests – forests with no
visible signs of past or present human activities, and which include some of the most biologically
diverse ecosystems on the planet – are being lost or modified at a rate of 4 million hectares a
year. Whilst the ocean occupies over 70% of Earth’s surface area and over 90% of the
biosphere’s volume, less than 2% of the ocean surface is under marine protected areas.
On the rate of growth of CO2, and related global warming, progress is not encouraging either:
equivalent emissions was higher during 1995-2004 than during the previous period of 1970-
1994; the global trend has not changed so far; and the IPCC reported that eleven of the last
twelve years (1995-2006) rank among the twelve warmest years of recorded global surface
temperature (since 1850).
Noting that between 1990 and 2008 the proportion of people without improved sanitation
decreased by only 7%, the world will not achieve even half of the sanitation target by 2015.
Finally, the target on improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers has been met in
full but during the same period more than 200 million new slum dwellers have been added to
the urban population.
What are the elements of success?
Based on national experiences and lessons learned from MDG7 a series of elements have been
identified that support successful integration of environmental sustainability in development
efforts. Those elements include:
developing comprehensive and coherent development planning frameworks integrating
all of the aspects related to environmental sustainability (e.g. poverty reduction, gender
equality, health) that are relevant to any given country in a balanced manner;
adopting national sustainable development plans and strategies that specifically include
MDG 7 related targets and indicators, and linking them to relevant national action plans;
incorporating environmental sustainability in all development policies (including
amongst others, health, education, and employment) and related national budgets;
promoting greener development policy approaches and creating economic incentives
through public-private partnerships;
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7. harnessing science, technology and innovation for innovative solutions;involving all
relevant stakeholders in the planning, programming and budgeting cycle to implement
the national plans;
integrating the perspective of culture and of local stakeholders into environmental
sustainability policies;
ensuring that the traditional knowledge, cultural resources and practices which
contribute to environmental sustainability are fully taken into account in development
strategies and policies;
ensuring the ability of all stakeholders/the whole population to contribute to
implementing environmental sustainability through education, public awareness and
training;
recognizing efforts to ensure rural-urban linkages and addressing those issues in
national development strategies;
implementing development projects that cut across the MDG ‘silos’, and address all 8
MDGs in an integrated manner (an example can be found in the “widespread use of
solar cookers… The European Commission and solar cooker experts estimate that 165 to
200 million households could benefit from solar cookers.”11);
adopting strong national legislation with mandatory targets and commitments towards
the attainment of sustainable development objectives. This involves not adopting
mechanically the global targets and indicators, but rather tailoring them to national
development policies and priorities, local context, and ecosystem specificities by, inter
alia, assessing countries environmental issues, identifying existing priorities, setting
country specific and verifiable targets, selecting indicators and establishing a baseline to
track progress;
having strong international and/or regional frameworks that promote global
partnerships, coordinated action and cooperation, fostering policy coherence with
related frameworks including those on disaster risk reduction and ocean governance;
adopting strong international and/or regional (i.e. trans-boundary) regulatory
frameworks;
providing fiscal investments for the attainment of the goals and multilateral funding to
supplement national resources;
developing national monitoring systems to track progress and ensuring institutional and
organizational capacity to do so.
11
Patricia McArdle, submitted discussion note
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8. What factors explain MDG 7 shortfalls?
A series of factors explaining the shortfalls in achieving MDG7 targets have been identified12 and
also reflected in several of the submitted discussion notes on the Environmental Sustainability
Thematic Consultation platform. Some of these shortfalls and challenges are highlighted below:
Lack of data: Many countries are just initiating MDG7 data collection and monitoring
efforts, and some are finding it difficult to allocate the proper resources13. According to the
UNDP review of national MDG reports in 2006, apart from access to water, less than half of
countries had reported sufficient data for monitoring progress. It should be noted that with
several indicators added in 2008 additional data and reporting has occurred in recent years
but there is still lack of scientific capacities to for the provision of reliable scientific
information, data, and statistics.
Weak linkages: Links between MDG 7 and other MDGs are rarely made in the MDG country
reports. If environmental issues are discussed in the context of the other goals, the causal
link between poverty and the environment is not well articulated nor a response developed.
MDG 7 is fragmented and does not integrate the different components of environmental
sustainability well. While MDG 7 contains elements that contribute to environmental
sustainability, those elements do not provide a full picture. Indicators on forestry and
protected areas for example do not reflect critical changes affecting the poor such as land
degradation and desertification, although improvements in protection and management of
forests and other systems are of particular relevance to the rural poor who rely more
directly on biodiversity and natural resources. “Poverty reduction and biodiversity or
ecosystem degradation are deeply intertwined and have roots in social, environmental and
economic complexities. These can be dealt with building partnerships at local or regional
scale and by fostering institutions which are embedded within communities.”14 This lack of
linkages can be exacerbated at the national level if countries mechanically adopt the global
set of targets and indicators without explicitly linking or tailoring them to national priorities
and conditions15. The science-policy interface needs to be strengthened to ensure evidence-
based policies for environmental sustainability.16
12
These have been identified in both the UNDG Thematic Paper on Environmental Sustainability (2010)
and the UNDP report on Making Progress on Environmental Sustainability (2006).
22 “A Decade of National MDG Reports: What are we learning?” UNDP Poverty Practice Working Paper
(2012)
13
UNDP, 2010. The Path to Achieving the MDGs: A Synthesis of Evidence from Around the World
14
Harpinder Sandhu, submitted discussion note
15
UNDP. 2006. Making Progress on Environmental Sustainability: Lessons and Recommendations from a Review of
over 150 MDG Country Experiences:
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/aplaws/publication/en/publications/environment-energy/www-ee-
library/mainstreaming/making-progress-on-environmental-sustainability/mdg7english.pdf
16
United Nations Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability. 2012. Resilient People,
Resilient Planet: A future worth choosing.
8

9. Monitoring challenges: Countries face many challenges in monitoring the MDG 7 indicators.
These include unreliable and inaccessible data, a lack of statistical capacities, as well as
difficulties related to lack of public awareness, legislative and regulatory frameworks,
inadequate human resource capacity and the need for more partnerships.
Lack of participation: The insufficient participation of stakeholders at all levels, including the
marginalized and those most affected by a lack of environmental sustainability, is frequently
mentioned as a major obstacle to progress. Consequently, there is a need to empower
everyone to participate in efforts towards environmental sustainability through education,
public awareness and training. Participation also implies taking into account the local
context and the cultural dimension, as well as recognizing the relevance of free,
independent and pluralistic media for progress towards environmental sustainability.
Other obstacles to progress: Lack of political will, pressure on environmental resources
from high use and “natural hazards and other external shocks”17, insufficient governance
and planning policies, a lack of “science, education, media and culture for environmental
sustainability”18, social unrest and lack of financial resources are among the challenges
contributing to insufficient progress on environmental sustainability. One of the main
challenges is the lack of coordination among national institutions and authorities stemming
from an unclear definition of roles and responsibilities. Collaboration among the donors also
presents difficulties in terms of country priorities versus those of the donor community.
Another major issue is the lack of commitment regarding the necessary national
investments to achieve MDG 7, pointing to the fact that targeted interventions and
investments in environmental sustainability can have strong positive impacts.
Concluding Thoughts
MDG 7 “fails to address the motors driving impoverished populations from the countryside into
cities.”19 “Failures to reach global targets in relation to halting biodiversity loss have added
further stresses to vulnerable peoples and communities. Biodiversity, ecosystems and the
services they provide are the foundations on which all people rely.”20 Indeed, the future
development framework will need to, among others “adequately recognize the gender
dimensions in several of the other but, MDG3 targets, including MDG7 on environmental
sustainability”21, to “adequately reflect the importance of conserving and restoring natural
systems as a component of strategies to reach other development targets”22. A future
development framework needs to be more comprehensive regarding environmental
17
CAN International and Beyond 2015, submitted discussion note
18
UNESCO, submitted discussion note
19
Brendan Coyne, submitted discussion note
20
BirdLife International, submitted discussion note
21
International Alliance of Women, submitted discussion note
22
Alejandra Bowles, submitted discussion note
9

10. sustainability and address priority areas, such as the ocean, for example, which were absent
from the MDGs.
MDGs lack clarity on how to tailor global targets to national realities and regional dynamics23.
Furthermore, MDGs have been criticized as they deal “with issues in ‘silos’, which undermine the
ability to address environmental sustainability and human well-being in an integrated way. At
the same time, given their significance, environmental sustainability and social equity must be
specifically recognizable and measurable elements of goal statements, targets or indicators in
order to be effectively addressed.”24 “Moreover, the underlying drivers of poverty were not
addressed. Therefore, the significance of environmental sustainability demands specific attention
so it is fully recognized and effectively addressed.”25 It has been further argued that the global
targets have missed out on addressing local issues, due to “a lack of genuine participation in
both framing and implementing environmental sustainability objectives…leading to badly
planned out or ill-adapted projects.”26 Therefore, the MDGs have, in some cases, “not benefitted
the most impoverished and socially excluded people.”27
A 2012 Thematic Paper on MDG 7 shows that this goal won’t be reached by 2015 unless we
bring changes to the way development occurs. This motivates for the need for “truly forward-
looking development goals. … focusing also on the needs of people who will be born over the
next years.”28 Furthermore, CAN International and Beyond 2015 noted that it was a “lost
opportunity that the MDGs did not provide guidance on how to address the root causes of
poverty and environmental degradation, such as inequality within and between countries”.
23
UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda (2012). (See reference above).
24
WWF, submitted discussion note
25
CAN International and Beyond 2015, submitted discussion note
26
Brendan Coyne, submitted discussion note
27
Brendan Coyne, submitted discussion note
28
Michael Herrman, submitted discussion note
10

11. Key Background Documents
UN DESA and UNDP, 2012. Synthesis of National Reports for Rio+20:
http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/742RIO+20_Synthesis_Report_Final.
pdf
UNDG, 2010. Thematic Paper on MDG7 Environmental Sustainability:
http://www.undg.org/docs/11421/MDG7_1954-UNDG-MDG7-LR.pdf
UNDP, 2010. The Path to Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: A Synthesis of Evidence
from Around the World
http://content.undp.org/go/cms-service/stream/asset/?asset_id=2677427
UNDP, 2006. Making Progress on Environmental Sustainability: Lessons and Recommendations
from a Review of over 150 MDG Country Experiences:
http://www.undp.org/content/dam/aplaws/publication/en/publications/environment-
energy/www-ee-library/mainstreaming/making-progress-on-environmental-
sustainability/mdg7english.pdf
United Nations, 2012. The Millennium Development Goals Report 2012:
http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2012/English2012.pdf
UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda, 2012. Realizing the Future
We Want for All. Report to the Secretary-General:
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/Post_2015_UNTTreport.pdf
11

12. Annex A: Progress on MDG7
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/mdg/Host.aspx?Content=Products/ProgressReports.htm
2012 MDG Progress Chart
2011 MDG Progress Chart
12