Presentación UN Sostenibilidad Ambiental y Economía Verde

Acá algunas ideas de lo que presenté hoy en NYC.

"Challenges for Sustainable Development and International Cooperation in Middle-Income Countries"

United Nations, March 6 2013.  Jorge Rodríguez Vives.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

·      First, I want to thank UNIDO and the Costa Rican Permanent Mission team, for the importance they gave to this urgent debate in international affairs. This discussion on different pressing challenges for middle income countries is timely and requires a platform in the ongoing debate on the post-2015 development agenda and the SDGs. None of these global agendas should be adopted, we believe, without a structured debate among MICs and their partners on these most pressing issues. 

·      This is why the intention of the Government of Costa Rica to host a High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries in June of this year in San Jose, is to provide a possibility for middle-income countries to define and articulate a joint understanding of the challenges ahead and respective actions on such issues. We are convinced that no future development solution will be viable without the inclusion of middle-income countries in the solution. Our countries, we believe, will make an important difference in marking a new global development path towards broad-based prosperity. From our point of view this is a common challenge for all of us as a group of Members of the UN.

·      Some conclusions that we  proposed in the working paper prepared for this meeting (which you can find uploaded to micconference.org) are:

·      It is necessary to return to industrial policies that encourage small and medium enterprises as the most important backbone of our economies, and the establishment of comparable data on the link between economics and sustainability. 

·       To generate a positive change through the right incentives towards more innovative production models - which need to be green and inclusive - should be a priority for the governments of middle-income countries. the creation of specialized funds and tax incentives for advancing the green economy are fundamental for our future competitiveness. This includes the use of alternative forms of energy.

·       It is vital for our countries to create networks of cooperation and joint research to generate knowledge in all these fields of policymaking. This is a new path in the international cooperation systems, based on South-South and triangular cooperation and network governance, which is certainly required by all our countries.

·      The absence of a cooperation model for middle-income countries is an issue that may involve major setbacks in the level of development of our countries. This is why we are grateful to UNIDO for facilitating such a platform for debate, knowledge networking and international coordination. 

·      To promote a green economy we need coordination between academia, the private sector, international organizations and the government, such interactions are those that generate competitiveness and local economic development. A good local example is the case of Brunca in Costa Rica, which I illustrated in the recent report of UNIDO. However, such networks should also be created beyond borders - among our countries - to find the most suitable solutions for advancing our economies for the benefit of the prosperity of our peoples.