Agenda 21 (agenda: ting som skal gøres) er en dagsorden eller programtekst for det 21. århundrede, som blev vedtaget på FNs topmøde i Rio de Janeiro i juni 1992.
Det er et stort manifest forstået på den måde, at 180 lande her vedkendte sig et ansvar om at finde bæredygtige måder for vores fremtidige udvikling, som formåede at give alle mennesker værdige levevilkår i harmoni med vores naturgrundlag, på en måde, så vi ikke ødelægger vores naturkapital for kommende generationer.
Vejen til Agenda 21
Forud havde FN i 1982 nedsat Brundtland-kommissionen, som fik sit navn efter den norske statsminister Gro Harlem Brundtland. Kommissionen fremlagde i 1987 rapporten Vores fælles fremtid, som fremhævede behovet for bæredygtig udvikling og gennemgik en række globale udfordringer, som verdenssamfundet stod overfor: befolkningsvækst, fødevaresikkerhed, opretholdelse af biodiversitet og økosystemer, energi, industri og bymiljø. Klimaproblematikken kan synes ung, men man finder allerede i Vores fælles fremtid et afsnit om CO2-udledninger og risikoen for klimaforandringer: Fossil Fuels: The Continuing Dilemma.
Brundtland-rapporten blev et centralt dokument i den videre proces, som ledte til Rio-konventionen i 1992. I modsætning til de modernistiske samfunds- og byidealer, som har søgt at skabe samme type samfund fra pol til ækvator uafhængig af klimatiske og kulturelle forskelle, rummer Agenda 21 en klar bevidsthed om nødvendigheden af at genoprette en økologisk balance i nøje overensstemmelse med regioners og landskabers særlige lokale karakteristika.
Lokale Agenda 21
En vigtig del af Rio-konventionen er derfor pålægget om at udarbejde lokale Agenda 21. Det har for eksempel ført til det af ICLEI udarbejdede Aalborg-charteret, et Charter for bæredygtige byer og bymiljøer, som blev vedtaget i Aalborg i maj 1994.
Københavns Kommune var i sin tid medunderskriver af Aalborg-charteret, men valgte senere at organisere arbejdet omkring det mere simple Dogme-samarbejde, hvor det bevidsthedsmæssige var mere underspllet, og det forvaltningshensigtsmæssige og det målbare sat i centrum. Det er siden udviklet sig til et Green Cities-samarbejde med et lidt bredere sigte.
Københavns Kommune udarbejder stadig hvert fjerde år en Agenda 21-plan, som udgør noget af det nærmeste man kommer en samlet bæredygtighedsstatus for byen. Så selvom Agenda 21 ikke altid er forrest i tankerne i dagligdagens beslutningsprocesser, så har det stadig en central rolle i fastholdelsen af det integrative perspektiv i miljøarbejdet. Se Københavns Agenda 21-plan 2008-2011 (pdf).
Etableringen af de københavnske agendacentre (som i dag kaldes Miljøpunkter) er ligeledes sket som en direkte konsekvens af Rio-konventionens pålæg om udarbejdelsen af lokale Agenda 21 og Københavns Kommunes vedkenden sig nødvendigheden af at finde mere bæredygtige veje for fremtiden.
Den seneste udvikling, hvor Miljøpunkterne med budgetforliget for 2011 blev lagt ind under lokaludvalgene og dermed forvaltningsmæssigt hører under økonomiforvaltningen, bør således være en kortvarig parentes i byens forvaltning af sit Agenda 21-ansvar.
Agenda 21 på dansk
Agenda 21 er så vidt vides aldrig blevet oversat til dansk i sin uforkortede udgave, men den findes i en forkortet dansksproget udgave med cirka to sider for hvert af de 27 principper, som er tilgængelig online, se: Agenda 21 – en forkortet udgave (pdf).
Den fulde Rio-aftale fylder 300 sider. Herunder følger konventionens 27 principper i kort form. Der er nok at tage fat på til det meste af det 21. århundrede. Her 20 år efter er det ikke for meget at sige, at vi endnu dårligt har fattet opgavens omfang.
Rio+20 – The Future We Want
I juni 2012 var hele verden igen samlet i Rio de Janeiro for at markere 20-året for vedtagelsen af Agenda 21 – i alt omkring 50.000 mennesker deltog. Selvom forhandlerne havde mødtes igen og igen igennem et halvt år, var der stadig foruroligende meget, man ikke var nået at blive enige om, så The Final Outcome Document med titlen The Future We Want og 283 små afsnit endte med at være ganske uambitiøst i forhold til den presserende situation. Så det vigtigste var måske, at man genbekræftede det oprindelige Agenda 21.
Se The Future We Want / se blog-indlæg om Rio+20.
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Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
Having met at Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992,
Reaffirming the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, adopted at Stockholm on 16 June 1972, and seeking to build upon it,
With the goal of establishing a new and equitable global partnership through the creation of new levels of cooperation among States, key sectors of societies and people,
Working towards international agreements which respect the interests of all and protect the integrity of the global environmental and developmental system,
Recognizing the integral and interdependent nature of the Earth, our home, Proclaims that:
Principle 1
Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
Principle 2
States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.
Principle 3
The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations.
Principle 4
In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it.
Principle 5
All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world.
Principle 6
The special situation and needs of developing countries, particularly the least developed and those most environmentally vulnerable, shall be given special priority. International actions in the field of environment and development should also address the interests and needs of all countries.
Principle 7
States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem. In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command.
Principle 8
To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate demographic policies.
Principle 9
States should cooperate to strengthen endogenous capacity-building for sustainable development by improving scientific understanding through exchanges of scientific and technological knowledge, and by enhancing the development, adaptation, diffusion and transfer of technologies, including new and innovative technologies.
Principle 10
Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided.
Principle 11
States shall enact effective environmental legislation. Environmental standards, management objectives and priorities should reflect the environmental and developmental context to which they apply. Standards applied by some countries may be inappropriate and of unwarranted economic and social cost to other countries, in particular developing countries.
Principle 12
States should cooperate to promote a supportive and open international economic system that would lead to economic growth and sustainable development in all countries, to better address the problems of environmental degradation. Trade policy measures for environmental purposes should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade. Unilateral actions to deal with environmental challenges outside the jurisdiction of the importing country should be avoided. Environmental measures addressing transboundary or global environmental problems should, as far as possible, be based on an international consensus.
Principle 13
States shall develop national law regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage. States shall also cooperate in an expeditious and more determined manner to develop further international law regarding liability and compensation for adverse effects of environmental damage caused by activities within their jurisdiction or control to areas beyond their jurisdiction.
Principle 14
States should effectively cooperate to discourage or prevent the relocation and transfer to other States of any activities and substances that cause severe environmental degradation or are found to be harmful to human health.
Principle 15
In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.
Principle 16
National authorities should endeavour to promote the internalization of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution, with due regard to the public interest and without distorting international trade and investment.
Principle 17
Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall be undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject to a decision of a competent national authority.
Principle 18
States shall immediately notify other States of any natural disasters or other emergencies that are likely to produce sudden harmful effects on the environment of those States. Every effort shall be made by the international community to help States so afflicted.
Principle 19
States shall provide prior and timely notification and relevant information to potentially affected States on activities that may have a significant adverse transboundary environmental effect and shall consult with those States at an early stage and in good faith.
Principle 20
Women have a vital role in environmental management and development. Their full participation is therefore essential to achieve sustainable development.
Principle 21
The creativity, ideals and courage of the youth of the world should be mobilized to forge a global partnership in order to achieve sustainable development and ensure a better future for all.
Principle 22
Indigenous people and their communities and other local communities have a vital role in environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional practices. States should recognize and duly support their identity, culture and interests and enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development.
Principle 23
The environment and natural resources of people under oppression, domination and occupation shall be protected.
Principle 24
Warfare is inherently destructive of sustainable development. States shall therefore respect international law providing protection for the environment in times of armed conflict and cooperate in its further development, as necessary.
Principle 25
Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and indivisible.
Principle 26
States shall resolve all their environmental disputes peacefully and by appropriate means in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
Principle 27
States and people shall cooperate in good faith and in a spirit of partnership in the fulfilment of the principles embodied in this Declaration and in the further development of international law in the field of sustainable development.
