Subject: Implications for London of the Declaration made at the 2002 Report Number: 6

Date: 12th June

Report to: Environment Committee

Report of: Executive Director of Policy & Partnership

1. Summary

1.1 This report implements action points from the 5th November 2002 meeting, specifically reporting on the implications of the WSSD declaration for London, including the Mayor’s progress on .

2. Background

2.1 At its meeting on the 5th November, the Committee received a report back from the 2002 World Summit on (WSSD) held in Johannesburg. The Committee requested a further report looking at the London implications of the intergovernmental declaration signed at WSSD, reporting back on the Mayor’s progress on implementing sustainable procurement practices and the issue of joining ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives).

3. Implications of the Johannesburg declaration for London

3.1 The two main intergovernmental documents that emerged from WSSD were the ‘Johannesburg Declaration’ (37 paragraphs) and the ‘Plan of Implementation’ (153 paragraphs). Certain themes are common to both and those that have relevance to London and the activity of the GLA are discussed below.

3.2 Strengthening governance at all levels. Good governance is essential for sustainable development. The GLA has a strong duty on sustainable development and exemplifies the democratic accountability and integrated policies that are characteristic of good governance.

3.3 Taking a long-term perspective and working in partnership. Sustainable development means looking beyond electoral timescales and thinking long-term. The Mayor has developed a suite of strategies aiming to improve London’s standing as an exemplary sustainable world city over the next ten to fifteen years. In addition, he has set up the London Sustainable Development Commission to advise him on sustainable development issues. The Commission currently has 22 commissioners selected to reflect economic, social, environmental and governance sectors. One of the main tasks of the Commission was to produce a London Sustainable Development Framework, which was launched by the Mayor on 5th June 2003. This Framework sets the context for sustainable development in London and will ensure that London strategies, policies and programmes are all moving in the right direction towards a sustainable goal. It is also a decision

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making tool, putting sustainable development at the heart of decision making and ensuring that mutually reinforcing economic, social and environment benefits are obtained from any proposal.

3.4 Strengthening sustainable development capacity at all levels. The declaration commits us to advance and strengthen the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development – economic development, social development and environmental protection – at local, national, regional and global levels. The GLA group has an important role in connecting local and national activity. The GLA group is developing its sustainable development capacity – the London Development Agency undertook a Best Value Review of Sustainable Development in 2002/03 and is now implementing its recommendations to improve its work in this area. A core GLA Best Value Review on sustainable development is planned for 2004. In the meantime, discussions have been held between the Mayor’s Management Board, the Deputy Mayor and officers in Policy and Partnerships to explore ways in which sustainable development can be further embedded into GLA activity.

3.5 Promoting more sustainable land use patterns. The draft London Plan is a sustainable development plan for London and is accompanied by an independent appraisal.

3.6 Changing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. Fundamental changes in the way societies produce and consume are indispensable for achieving global sustainable development. This is an area where the United Kingdom and London in particular can have an impact. The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation encourages the development of 10-year action programmes to accelerate the shift towards and production, decoupling economic growth and environmental degradation and improving resource efficiency.

3.7 The GLA is active in this area. The Mayor’s environmental strategies contain significant policy content aimed at improving resource efficiency and reducing pollution and environmental damage. In addition, the GLA was a partner in the City Limits Resource Flow and analysis of London launched just after WSSD. The headline statistics for London’s ecological footprint has been included in the Mayor’s recently issued State of the Environment report.

3.8 The Mayor’s Green Procurement Code, run by London ReMade, specifically aims to improve markets for recycled goods in London – transforming waste products into useful resources. As a result of the London Sustainable Development Commission work, this Code could be further developed to promote the use of .

3.9 The Mayor has also set up a GLA group working party to look at making group procurement more sustainable. A report on greening GLA group procurement will go to the July meeting of the Integration Unit. There is enormous potential in terms of using public sector purchasing in London to influence patterns of production and consumption: the Mayor intends to target GLA group procurement before engaging the rest of the public sector in London.

3.10 GLA Economics has recently joined the Environment Agency’s REWARD project which is looking at regional economic activity, environmental impacts and . Most of the other English regions are partners in this project along with the Welsh Assembly (modeling consultants include Cambridge Econometrics and AEA Technology).

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3.11 Eradicating poverty. One of the main issues at WSSD was the eradication of poverty and ensuring that people have access to basic requirements, such as clean water, , adequate shelter, energy, health care and . London faces its own social exclusion challenges, many of which were highlighted in the London Divided: income inequality and poverty in the capital report published by the Mayor in November 2002.

3.12 The report drew attention to the enormous differences in poverty rates between Inner and Outer London, the ethnic dimension of poverty in the capital and the importance of the labour market in explaining London’s high rates of child poverty. In April 2003 the mayor issued a consultation paper ‘Tackling Poverty in London’ containing recommendations intended to open a dialogue with London government and stakeholders on the options available to local and regional government. All the Mayor’s strategies aim to tackle social exclusion in a co-ordinated fashion, with particular emphasis on this issue in the draft London Plan and the Economic Development Strategy.

3.13 London also has a role globally to ensure that its activities and actions don’t contribute to increased poverty in other countries. The Mayor’s recent Fair Trade event and his commitment to making London a Fair Trade city will contribute positively in this respect.

3.14 Tackling environmental degradation. Human activities are having an increasing impact on the integrity of ecosystems that provide essential resources and services for human well-being and economic activities. Managing the natural resources base in a sustainable and integrated manner is essential for sustainable development and the Mayor’s environmental strategies aim to produce fundamental improvements in environmental management and use of resources. Adding Energy to the list of environmental strategies required under the Act will significantly improve London’s contribution to the achievement of sustainable development.

3.15 Climate change. Change in the Earth’s climate and its adverse effects are a common concern of humankind and WSSD reaffirmed a commitment to the achievement of stabalisation of greenhouse gas concentrations. States that have ratified the strongly urged States that have not already done so to ratify the Protocol in a timely manner. The GLA took leadership of the London Climate Change Partnership in September 2001 and the Partnerships report ‘London’s Warming’ was launched by the Mayor and Michael Meacher in October 2002. Follow up work is now targeting specific sectors in relation to adapting to the impacts of climate change – starting with ‘transport’ and ‘growth areas’.

3.16 The Mayor has included a CO2 emission reduction target in his draft Energy Strategy – the national target of reducing emissions by 20% on 1990 levels by 2010. This is based up a recommendation from the London Sustainable Development Commission who have also undertaken engagement with London’s business community over the adoption of such a target.

3.17 Focusing on specific health and safety threats. WSSD pledged particular attention to the fight against the worldwide conditions that pose severe threats to health and stability. These included chronic hunger, malnutrition, foreign occupation, armed conflicts, illicit drug problems, organized crime, corruption, natural disasters, illicit arms trafficking, trafficking in persons, terrorism, intolerance and incitement to racial, ethnic, religious and other hatreds,

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xenophobia, and endemic, communicable and chronic diseases, in particular HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

3.18 Many of these issues affect London and the Mayor, the activity of the GLA group (MPA, LFEPA) and his London Health Commission are promoting London solutions. The London Health Strategy focuses on the major determinants of health, including crime, air quality, life expectancy and infant mortality rate. The Mayor has been active on specific London health and safety issues including domestic violence, drug and alcohol issues, health inequalities, refuges and aslylum seekers, anti terrorism and equality and diversity issues. Prioritising the tackling crime and putting more police on the streets have started to show results in reducing crime and fear of crime in London.

3.19 Gender equality. The WSSD declaration commits signatories to ensure that women’s empowerment and emancipation, and gender equality are integrated in all activities encompassed within , the Millennium Development Goals and the WSSD Plan of Implementation. The Mayor has been particularly active in this field, promoting initiatives like the Gender Equalities Scheme, CapitalWomen conferences and the Childcare Strategy.

3.20 Corporate responsibility. This was a major theme of WSSD. The Declaration agreed that the private sector (both large and small companies) have a duty to contribute to the evolution of equitable and sustainable communities and societies. In addition, it identified a need for private sector corporations to enforce corporate accountability and that this should take place within a transparent and stable regulatory environment. The City of London led the UK’s financial services sector’s response to WSSD called ‘the London Principles’ project.

3.21 The Project targets asset Management (e.g. ethical investment), venture capital (e.g. investments in new technologies) and risk management (e.g. role of insurance industry). The final product was a number of case studies and seven principles on mainstreaming sustainability into the financial sector. This is an area that will be investigated as part of the review of the Economic Development Strategy.

3.22 Regional co-ordination and networks. As a result of regional activity and networking leading up to and after WSSD, the GLA is investigating partnership working with various networks and organizations, including the European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign. The GLA Head of Environment is considering whether the GLA should join the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), which organised the successful local government summit at WSSD.

3.23 Monitoring progress. The Declaration committed States to monitor progress at regular intervals in terms of meeting sustainable development goals and objectives. The Mayor has asked the London Sustainable Development Commission to identify sustainability indicators for London as part of the development of a London Sustainable Development Framework. The Commission undertook a 12 week consultation with Londoners on indicators and the results are expected in early July. Detailed information on London’s environment can be found in the recently issued State of the Environment report.

4. Strategy Implications

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4.1 The above analysis demonstrates that the Mayor and GLA group are already tackling many of the issues identified at WSSD, particularly within existing strategies. Two areas where further improvement could be made are on mainstreaming sustainable development within the core GLA and GLA group, and sustainable procurement. Both these areas are being taken forward, including the need for consistency between strategy procurement proposals and GLA group policy.

5. Financial Implications

5.1 There are no direct financial implications arising as a result of this report. The GLA has an approved programme budget of £106k for sustainable development in 2003/04.

6. Legal Comments

There are no direct legal implications arising as a result of this report

7. Recommendations

That the Committee note the implications for London from the Johannesburg Summit and the GLA activity underway in relation to the implementation of the Summit outcomes.

Background Documents: The following documents were used in the preparation of this report:

• The Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development • World Summit on Sustainable Development: Plan of Implementation

Contact Officer: Niall Machin, Senior Policy Officer, PSU

Tel: 0207 983 4304

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