Environment 'should not be sole focus'

The environment should not be the sole focus of sustainable development, a senior consultant of the UN secretary-general said on Wednesday in Beijing.

"The environment is an important consideration, but it is not the only one. Economic growth, social stability and social protection are also very important. Sustainable development is the integrity of the three aspects," Janos Pasztor, executive secretary of the Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

The panel under his leadership, with representatives from 22 countries, produced the report "Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing" for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil this June.

More than 100 world leaders, including Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, have confirmed they will attend the conference, said Pasztor, adding that more than 1,000 CEOs are expected to participate in what could be the largest event in UN history.

There are two themes of the conference: one to develop a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, and the second about institutional frameworks for sustainable development.

Pasztor called for a set of sustainable development indicators that go beyond the traditional approach of GDP and suggested the government apply a set of sustainable development goals that can mobilize global action and help monitor progress.

Global sustainable development should be reviewed through new instruments such as the sustainable development goals and sustainable development performance indices as well, which are likely to cover finance, education, law and technology, Pasztor said.

According to the report, the UN Commission on Sustainable Development created after the 1992 Earth Summit has been caught in a zero-sum negotiating dynamic over general political positions that have weakened its original aim of playing an integrative role in sustainable development.

"The governments should take this responsibility to provide enough information for ordinary people to become more rational when making choices on everyday life, and it still has a long way to go," he added.

Contact the writer at cuihaipei@chinadaily.com.cn