Negotiations on the Zero Draft Begin!

Last week, delegates from 193 countries began discussing sections I, II and III of the compilation text of the Zero Draft of the Rio+20 outcome document, currently titled “The Future We Want”. These are the sections that discuss the Green Economy, the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development, and the Framework for Action and Follow-up. In total these sections include 103 of the document’s 128 paragraphs, and make up 13 pages of the 19-page Zero Draft document compiled by the UNCSD co-chairs after the January Informal negotiations.

Since January, member states and representatives of civil society have submitted 677 proposals for edits to the Zero Draft, and the resulting compilation document is currently 189 pages long. Paragraph by paragraph, the proposed changes are being negotiated in 9 hours of plenary sessions per day.

http://www.iisd.ca/uncsd/ism3/pix/27march/DSC_7809%20room.jpg

A big player in these negotiations is the the G77, or Group of 77. This group was founded in 1964 by 77 developing countries with collective economic interests and the purpose of building their joint-negotiating capacity. The G77 currently has 131 member countries, making it a significant force in the body of 193 nations represented in the UN. Once countries join this group, they can only speak collectively. The same goes for the EU. Countries such as the US, Canada, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Japan, Australia and New Zealand negotiate on their own behalf.

Check out the text being negotiated here!:

http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.php?menu=144