Sixty-sixth session of the Commission
Committing to action on sustainable development in times of change
14 - 15 April 2015
Room XIX, Palais des Nations, Geneva Switzerland
Documents
| Document Title |
English |
French |
Russian |
|||
| Report of sixty-sixth session (advance copy) E/2015/37-E/ECE/1472 |
||||||
| Programme of the sixty-sixth session | ||||||
| Revised annotated provisional agenda for the sixty-sixth session E/ECE/1471/Rev.1 |
||||||
|
Committing to action on sustainable development in times of change |
||||||
|
Background note |
||||||
|
High-level statement on the post-2015 development agenda and expected sustainable development goals in the ECE region |
||||||
|
Progress in the implementation of the outcome of the review of the 2005 reform of ECE |
||||||
|
Report on activities of the Executive Committee |
||||||
|
Other issues calling for decision by the Commission: The Geneva United Nations Charter on Sustainable Housing |
||||||
14 April
|
Item 1: |
Opening and adoption of the agenda |
English |
|
10.00-10.25 |
||
|
Opening remarks |
||
|
- Mr. Roderick van Schreven, Ambassador of the Netherlands, Chairperson of the Economic Commission for Europe |
||
|
- Mr. Christian Friis Bach, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Europe |
||
|
- Mr. Michael Møller, Acting Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva |
||
|
High level segment |
||
|
Committing to action on sustainable development in times of change |
||
|
Item 2: |
High level dialogue |
|
|
10:30-13:00 |
||
|
Moderator: |
Mr. Roderick van Schreven, Ambassador of the Netherlands |
|
|
Panelists: |
- Mr. Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany |
|
|
- Mr. Gennady Gatilov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Russian Federation |
||
|
- Mr. Serdar Atayev, Deputy Minister of Economy and Development, Turkmenistan |
||
|
- Ms. Nerissa J. Cook, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State, United States |
||
|
- Mr. Nicholas Hanley, Acting Director, Directorate-General for the Environment, European Commission |
||
|
- Mr. Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Azerbaijan |
||
|
Item 3: |
High level thematic discussions |
|
|
15:00-16:30 |
||
|
Panel A - Sustainable energy and resilient communities |
||
|
Moderator: |
Mr. Christian Friis Bach, Executive Secretary, ECE |
|
|
Panelists: |
- Ms. Elena Szolgayova, Director General, DG Housing Policy and Urban Development, Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development, Slovakia - Topic: Housing and urban development, Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing |
|
|
- Mr. Jérôme Schmitt, Senior Vice President, Sustainable Development and Environment, Total S.A. - Topic: Changing business models for smarter energy systems |
||
|
- Mr. Chris Kuijpers, Director-General, Environment & International Affairs, Ministry of Infrastructure & Environment, the Netherlands - Topic: The Dutch Green Deal & The Energy Agreement |
||
|
- Mr. Gregory Dimitriadis, CEO, Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA) - Topic: Urban Transport |
||
|
- Ms. Galina Khovanskaya, Chair, Social Housing Committee of the Duma, Russian Federation - Topic: Housing |
||
|
- Ms. Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology and Co-Chair Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University - Topic: Population and the major population trends in UNECE region - ageing, urbanization and migration |
||
|
- Prof. Peter Droege, Sustainable Spatial Development, President Eurosolar, Chair of the World Council for Renewable Energy, Asia Pacific - Topic: Spatial development, renewable energy |
||
|
- Mr. Barry Worthington, Executive Director, United States Energy Association - Topic: Fossil fuels facing the CO2 challenge |
||
|
16:30-18:00 |
||
|
Panel B - Sustainable management of ecosystems and natural resources |
||
|
Moderator: |
Mr. Roderick van Schreven, Ambassador of the Netherlands |
|
|
Panelists: |
- Ms. Tiina Rytilä, State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Finland - Topic: Forests, green economy, ecosystem management, air and water |
|
|
- Mr. Janusz Zaleski, Deputy Director, Polish State Forest, Poland - Topic: Forests |
||
|
- Ms. Victoria Elias, Programme Director, WWF, Russia - Topic: Biodiversity, ecosystem management |
||
|
- Ms. Leilani Münter, Race car driver and environmental activist, United States - Topic: Environmental protection, behavioural change, public participation, sustainable transport |
||
|
- Prof. David Simon, Director, Mistra Urban Futures, Chalmers, Gothenburg & Royal Holloway University London, United Kingdom - Topic: Sustainable urban development, green economy, MEAs, SDGs |
15 April
|
Wednesday, 15 April 2015 |
|||
|
10:00-11:30 |
English |
Russian |
|
|
Panel C - Connectivity and competitiveness for sustainable lives |
|||
|
Moderator: |
Mr. Christian Friis Bach, Executive Secretary, ECE |
||
|
Panelists: |
- Mr. Vladimir Yakunin, Chairman of the Union Internationale des Chemins de fer (UIC) and CEO of Russian Railways (RZD) - Topic: Better connectivity through regulatory framework: the case of the unified railway law |
||
|
- Mr. Niklas Gustavsson, Deputy CEO, Volvo Group; Chief of Sustainability - Topic: The role of vehicle regulations for fair trade and the connected vehicles for sustainable mobility management |
|||
|
- Mr. David Ward, Secretary General, Global NCAP- Topic: Sustainable connectivity includes safe mobility, which also requires safe vehicles |
|||
|
- Mr. Jos Arts,Professor, Environment & Infrastructural Planning, Groningen University; Strategic Advisor, Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, the Netherlands - Topic: Finding the balance for future mobility of freight and people |
|||
|
- Mr. Glyn Hughes, Global Head of Cargo, IATA - Topic: Global supply chains and electronic documentation |
|||
|
11:30-13:00 |
|||
|
Panel D - Measuring and monitoring sustainable development |
|||
|
Moderator: |
Mr. Roderick van Schreven, Ambassador of the Netherlands |
||
|
Panelists: |
- Prof. Enrico Giovannini, Chair of the SG Independent Expert Advisory Group on Data revolution for Sustainable Development - Topic: New requirements from policy demands for the global statistical system in measuring SD |
||
|
-Dr. Vanessa Lawrence, Co-Chair of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) - Topic: The importance of geo-spatial information in advancing the data revolution |
|||
|
- Mr. Padraig Dalton, Chief Statistician, Ireland, Chair of the ECE High-level Group on Modernization of statistical production - Topic: Innovations in official statistics to support the post-2015 development agenda |
|||
|
- Dr. Peder Jensen, Head of Programme, Partnerships and Networks, European Environment Agency - Topic: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment |
|||
|
- Prof. Adonis F. Velegrakis, Professor in Marine Geology, Department of Marine Sciences, School of Environment, University of the Aegean, Greece - Topic: Measuring and monitoring transport-related aspects of the sustainable development goals |
|||
|
15:00-16:30 |
|||
|
Panel E - Partnering for sustainable development |
|||
|
Moderator: |
Mr. Christian Friis Bach, Executive Secretary, ECE |
||
|
Panelists: |
- Mr. James Stewart, Chairman of Global Infrastructure, KPMG, Chairman of the ECE PPP Advisory Board - Topic: Challenges in implementing Partnerships for Sustainable Development: the private sector perspective |
||
|
- Mr. Georg Kell, Executive Director, UN Global Compact - Topic: Partnerships to address the SDGs |
|||
|
- Mr. Umberto de Pretto, Secretary General, International Road Transport Union - Topic: Public and private sector partnerships supporting international transport: the case of TIR |
|||
|
- Mr. Maksim Yermalovich, Deputy Minister of Finance, Belarus - Topic: Challenges in driving public-private partnerships forward in countries that are just getting started: the Belarus experience |
|||
|
- Ms. Inger Andersen, Executive Director, International Union for the Conservation of Nature - Topic: Maximizing civil society's contributions to partnerships for sustainable development |
|||
|
16:30-17:15 |
|||
|
Item 4: |
Discussion and adoption of the outcome document |
||
|
General Segment |
|||
|
17:15-18:00 |
|||
|
Item 5: |
Progress in the implementation of the outcome of the review of the 2005 reform of ECE |
||
16 April
Thursday, 16 April 2015
|
10:00-10:30 |
|
|
|
Item 6: |
Report on activities of the Executive Committee |
|
|
10:30-11:00 |
||
|
Item 7: |
Other issues calling for decision by the Commission |
|
|
11:00-11:30 |
||
|
Item 8: |
Election of officers |
|
|
Item 9: |
Other business |
|
|
16:00-17:00 |
||
|
Item 10: |
Adoption of the report of the session |
List of participants
| List of participants (as of 27 July 2015) |
Greening your participation
Greening your participation
 |
1) Make your participation paper-smart:
- We encourage all delegations to bring their tablets or laptop computers and use the online versions of the official documents. WiFi is available throughout the Palais des Nations.
- If you need to print, print on both sides of the paper. If possible, opt for unbleached paper with as high a proportion of recycled content as possible, or paper derived from legally (and ideally, sustainably) managed forests.
- Paper recycling bins are available throughout the Palais des Nations.
2) Reduce and offset CO2 emissions from your travelling:
- Offset your flight emissions personally or check with your travel agent and your organization to see if they offer any carbon offsetting schemes. The website www.cdmbazaar.net offers a comprehensive list of carbon offset brokers.
- Opt for economy class rather than business.
- Take advantage of Geneva’s excellent public transportation system. Geneva hotels offer free public transportation cards to guests. At the airport, free bus tickets to transfer to the city can be obtained near the luggage carousels.
- Walk, or bike.
3) Avoid bottled water:
- To minimize waste, bring your own bottle or container.
- Opt for tap water. The tap water at the Palais des Nations has been certified to fit all Swiss and WHO safety standards.
- If you do purchase beverages, recycling bins for aluminium cans and plastic bottles are available throughout the Palais des Nations.
4) Eat local and in-season:
- Take advantage of the organic and local food options offered by the Palais des Nations cafeteria and many Geneva restaurants. Look for the Genève Région - Terre Avenir (GRTA) label which identifies products from the Geneva region.
- Avoid food waste as much as possible.
- Avoid paper coffee cups, plastic utensils and plates. Opt for porcelain or steel alternatives.
5) Others:
- Switch off lights, computers and other equipment when not in use.
- Enjoy being in nature in the park Ariana surrounding the Palais des Nations, and at the “Forests for Food – Food for Forests” exhibition on display at the Salle des Pas Perdus (3rd floor, A building).