Voluntary Commitments
Exactly a year ago the United Nations organised the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development. Over 45.000 representatives of states, companies and civil society organisations were present, including Nathalie van Haren of Both ENDS. The conference will go into history as a failure. But there was a bright spot: the voluntary commitments made by individual governments, companies and CSOs. Ban Ki Moon called them ‘bricks and cement for sustainable development’. What are these commitments, what was promised, and what are the results, one year later? Peter Zomer, intern at Both ENDS, looked into the matter.
What are the voluntary commitments? What will be used for?
In the run-up to the Rio+20 the UN called on its members to send in proposals of voluntary initiatives for sustainable development. No less than 882 Voluntary Commitments were submitted by companies such as Microsoft, UNEP, Unilever and the Gates Foundation. There were promises made in areas such as energy, agriculture, health and education.
Peter reviewed the promises made by Dutch participants and looked whether they are useful for the projects of Both ENDS. He also interviewed Dutch participants and concluded that the commitments look very promising but that little is clear yet. Although many of the interviewees are constantly working on the promised subjects, the UN shows little activity itself. There is a lack of communication about the specific promises not only between the proposers and the UN, but also between the proposers and their partners. The proposers do not seem to feel directly responsible for the promises made to the UN and it is not clear to them whether they have lived up to their promises.
How can we make sure the Voluntary Commitments are useful to the world?
The voluntary promises made under the UN do have potential. Many proposers have been working on a broad range of topics in many areas. Awareness about these commitments can promote cooperation and involvement. To help the proposers live up to their promises the UN should ask them to report on their progress. Furthermore, the work of the proposers as well as new commitments should stay focused on sustainable development. This can be (re)adjusted by setting the right conditions for new registrations. Ultimately the capacity of participants to realise their promises is essential and the UN and others can definitely play a part in this.
When will all these beautiful promises become reality?
Sustainable development can only be achieved when everyone participates. Sustainable development used to be a term used by scholars, civil society organisations and governments, but now many companies are also aware of its importance. The Voluntary Commitments are a good example of this: under the banner of the UN participants of the Rio +20 have voluntarily made their sustainability ambitions known to the world.
Voluntary agreements may be even harder to compel than multilateral environmental agreements: when the participants do not fulfil their promises there are no sanctions. But this does not mean that one can just bail out irresponsibly: agreements are agreements whether they are voluntary or not and promise makes (moral) dept. We now have to make sure that words are not only transformed into action , but also that this action truly supports sustainable development. To uphold the credibility of the promises and of the UN itself, the UN should take a lead in monitoring the realisation of the promises. The UN Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD) will host the first annual meeting on the implementation of sustainable development in November this year. The meeting will focus on the progress of the Rio+20 Voluntary Commitments.
The UN-website about the Voluntary Commitments
Nathalie’s blogs on the Rio+20 summit
Read more about this subject
-
Letter / 22 July 2024
Joint Call to Action: International Civil Society Demands Justice for Berta Cáceres' Murder Victims in Honduras
This is a joint call to action by international civil society organizations to call upon the Honduran authorities to ensure there is justice for the victims of the murder on Berta Caceres. Eight years and four months have passed since the crime against Berta and the Honduran justice system has not confirmed the sentences of those convicted and has not prosecuted the intellectual authors. We are extremely concerned that independent administration of justice and international agreements on human rights are not being upheld.
-
News / 17 July 2024
EU Exits Energy Charter Treaty (ECT): A Milestone for Climate Action
The European Union's decision to exit the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is a landmark victory for climate action. For years, the ECT's Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism has enabled fossil fuel companies to challenge climate policies, hindering progress towards sustainability.
-
News / 9 July 2024
‘Dare to Trust’: Both ENDS and the Dutch Postcode Lottery team up to show the power of trust-based partnership
For more than thirty years, Both ENDS has collaborated with partner organisations around the world to advance environmental justice. Our relationships with partners, many of which span decades, are based on shared values, respect and trust. Together, we are strengthening knowledge, networks and movements, and engaging in joint advocacy aimed at bringing about a more just and sustainable world.
-
News / 9 July 2024
Help the fight for a world without fossil fuels: sign this initiative
The climate crisis can no longer be ignored. With record temperatures and unprecedented extreme weather conditions, we see the devastating effects of climate change all around the world. The Netherlands has recently faced both unprecedented heatwaves and prolonged rainfall that have severely impacted our agricultural sector. These events painfully highlight: we must act now.
-
News / 4 July 2024
Karin van Boxtel new director of Both ENDS
Karin van Boxtel (35) is the new director of environment and human rights organization Both ENDS. Karin has been running the organization temporarily, together with Annelieke Douma, since the departure of the previous director, Danielle Hirsch. She has now been appointed permanently to make Both ENDS stronger and more future-proof. Karin will take up her new post on 1 September. Until then, she will continue as co-director on an interim basis.
-
News / 3 July 2024
-
Video / 3 July 2024
Jonila Castro of AKAP KA & Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment
Jonila Castro works for AKAP KA Manila Bay and/or Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE). The livelihood of the majority of the Filipino people depends on the environment, on the seas and the lands and mountains.
-
News / 3 July 2024
Illegal logging is devastating Suriname's forest: The Saamaka and their fight against deforestation
The Saamaka people of Suriname have long resisted the government's violation of their land rights. Despite a 2007 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) against such violations, the government continues to grant logging and mining concessions on Saamaka territory without free prior and informed consent (FPIC). New report shows this has led to deforestation, land dispossession, and disruption of their livelihoods. A recent example includes a 42.7 km road built through their lands for logging access.
-
Publication / 2 July 2024
-
Blog / 21 June 2024
International coorperation - especially now!
This blog is written in Dutch
-
News / 19 June 2024
Recognition for PROBIOMA from the Chamber of Deputies of the Plurinational State of Bolivia
PROBIOMA have received recognition from the Chamber of Deputies of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. The presentation of this tribute took place at the Museum of Natural History Noel Kempff Mercado, in the framework of the Environment Day.
-
Publication / 18 June 2024
-
News / 18 June 2024
Impact of oil extraction on women's health in Bayelsa
In the context of Shell's imminent divestment from onshore oil industry in the Niger Delta, Both ENDS partner Kebetkache publishes a new report showing severe health and environmental challenges faced by the women of Otuabagi in the Niger Delta due to Shell's crude oil exploration. -
News / 18 June 2024
Dutch government threatens to put human lives at risk again in infamous TotalEnergies gas project in Mozambique
The Dutch government threatens to blunder again by providing export support for TotalEnergies' controversial gas project in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. This follows from an analysis of 9000 documents from FOI requests, commissioned by Milieudefensie and Both ENDS. Anne de Jonghe, Both ENDS: “When the export support was issued in 2021, critical voices were minimized, while TotalEnergies was heard and trusted. That should not happen again."
-
Event / 17 June 2024, 15:00 - 16:00
Environmental Litigation: An Underestimated risk for Investors
Extreme weather events, environmental degradation and stakeholder activism force companies to reconsider climate change as an aggravating risk with tangible impacts on global supply chains, business performance, brand reputation and ESG ratings. Business strategies that neglect adequate environmental action can lead to consumer boycotts, negative media attention, investor runs and even legal action.
-
Dossier /
Transformative Talks
At Both ENDS we aim to connect people for change. Together with environmental justice groups from the Global South, we work towards a sustainable, fair and inclusive world.
-
Pathway /
Promoting people-driven solutions
Our goal is a massive upscaling and mainstreaming of bottom-up, planet-friendly practices, supported by favourable governance systems and availability of financial resources. There are many examples of successful community-led livelihood models based on collective participation, healthy ecosystems, gender justice and a vision of wellbeing beyond individual wealth. Approaches such as Regreening focus on ecosystem restoration led by forest communities or local farmers in the Sahel. These initiatives recognise and respect the interdependence between human prosperity and healthy ecosystems. They help to empower women, youth and other groups that often lack access to decision-making processes and tend to be excluded from land, water and forest management to assert their agency and rights to self-determination.
-
Pathway /
Supporting a powerful civil society
Our goal is that civil society can work openly and safely, make their voices heard and influence decision-making on ecosystem challenges and matters of environmental justice and human rights. A strong civil society is indispensable to a healthy society. It checks the power of both state and corporate actors, holds decision-makers accountable, and defends the rights of those marginalised from positions of influence. A strong and independent civil society can advocate for fair and ecologically responsible policies as well as challenge structural inequalities in decision-making. It can also use accountability mechanisms to seek redress for the negative consequences of such inequitable decision-making, and instead promote, implement and upscale transformative practices.
-
Pathway /
Advocating for just governance worldwide
Our goal is to achieve systemic change at all levels of social, political and economic institutions, to ensure that these unconditionally respect human rights and planetary boundaries. This requires policy coherence and consistent decision-making across all sectors - from trade, finance and energy to food production, agriculture, climate action and water management - and across all sections of society - from individual to family, farm, neighbourhood, city, province and national levels.
-
News / 11 June 2024
Stand in solidarity; sign the petition
Together with a vast majority of Dutch NGO's, political movements and other concerned professionals we have started a petition to call out to the Dutch new government to invest in international cooperation and stop the planned budget cuts (2,5 billion euros).