Sustainable Development
Statement by Ambassador Hjįlmar W. Hannesson
Permanent Representative of Iceland to the United Nations
at the
Substantive Session of the Economic and Social Council
Agenda Item 13 (a)
Sustainable Development
New York, 20 July 2005
Mr. Vice-President
I would like to thank those who introduced the relevent documents this morning. I would especially like to express our support for points of views on reforms of the work of ECOSOC expressed by Director Khan.
Iceland aligned itself with the general statement on Agenda item 13 of our colleague from the UK on behalf of the EU and I limit my intervention to issues under 13 (a).
First I would like to comment on the report of the 13th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, namely on the subject of water and sanitation.
Water and sanitation are basic foundations of human life and health. Lack of water and adequate sanitation is the world’s single largest cause of illness. Over half of the people in the developing world suffering from diseases are affected by unsafe water and poor sanitation. And every year almost three million people, most of them children, die from waterborne diseases. No measures give higher returns than investments in improving freshwater supplies and sanitation.
This is of course the nub of the issue and we are satisfied with the successful outcome of the 13th session of CSD.
Water is also crucial for preserving biodiversity from freshwater lakes and rivers to mountain regions, wetlands, coastal zones and oceans. Coastal zones are the most productive ecosystems on earth. They are today particularly at risk due to pollution from land-based activities. Such pollution causes local health problems and affects the marine ecosystem as a whole. This important matter was among others highlighted by Iceland at the meeting.
Many coastal and island developing states, including the SIDS are heavily dependent on living marine resources. In 1995 108 governments and the European Commission adopted The Global Programme of Action for Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA). The GPA is the only global mechanism explicitly addressing the linkages between freshwater and coastal and marine environments.
The JPOI (The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation) reiterates the value of GPA as a tool for achieving internationally agreed goals and targets, including those associated with the Millennium Declaration. Bearing this in mind Iceland urges governments, who have committed themselves to the GPA, to further strengthen its effective implementation.
Mr. Vice-President
As we all know, the major theme for the 14th and 15th sessions of the CSD is “energy for sustainable development”
It is impossible to reduce poverty effectively without taking radical measures to improve access to energy. Around 2 billion people at present do not have access to electricity. Measures that should be considered include more efficient use of energy resources, the development of new technologies and increasing the share of renewable energy resources. Attention should be paid to the development of new energy carriers, such as hydrogen, which could help developing countries leap-frog their way into the modern industrial economy. Countries without oil deposits could decrease their dependancy on imported fossil fuels by using hydrogen produced from local renewables for transportation. Hydrogen can also be used to store energy for use on demand from fluctuating renewable sources such as wind power and solar energy. Technological innovations in the energy sector deserve the backing of the international community. Such innovations can help countries mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Clean and sustainable geothermal energy is one of the fundamentals of Iceland’s economy and we have sought to share our experience on the use of this renewable and clean energy source with other countries. The UNU Geothermal Training Program, which was established in Reykjavik in 1978, gives university graduates engaged in geothermal work intensive on-the-job training in their chosen fields of specialization. The aim is to assist developing countries with significant geothermal potential in building up expertise on most aspects of geothermal exploration and development. Trainees work side-by-side with geothermal professionals in Iceland and then have an opportunity to extend their studies at the University of Iceland. A total of 318 specialists from 39 countries have completed the program. Graduates are among the leading specialists in geothermal research and development in many developing countries and as such, contribute to the development of renewable energy in the world.
Thank you Mr. Vice-President
