U.S. Statement During Plenary Discussion with Major Groups

Mr. Chairman, given the vital role of major groups and other relevant stakeholders in advancing sustainable development, the United States appreciates your efforts to provide multiple entry points for stakeholder participation in these proceedings.

CSD 12 gave us a good idea of what needs to be done to overcome obstacles and advance implementation in water, sanitation, and human settlements. Our challenge now is to identify how best to proceed and to turn our commitments into concrete action. We are encouraged by how this Commission is meeting the challenge by making our proceedings more practical and action-oriented. This reflects how member states and international organizations have embraced the "implementation era."

Overcoming the obstacles identified at CSD 12 and delivering concrete results requires practical approaches and specific commitments by all stakeholders, including major groups. We hope to hear more from the major groups about what they are already doing or are committed to doing, individually or in partnership with others, to advance implementation.

For example, science will always play a role in defining our policy goals and objectives. As we turn toward implementation, in many cases, technological solutions will be key. We have seen many examples of excellent technologies that do not find widespread application because of institutional barriers or the lack of a business model that enables broader diffusion of the technology. Finding ways to marry promising technologies with sound business plans for their development and diffusion will be essential to achieving results. We would welcome case studies or examples where Business and Industry and the Scientific and Technological community, including social scientists, have worked together on this problem.

In addition, as we move forward with implementation in individual countries, we are struck by how most action occurs at the local level and how finance, capacity building, and governance issues are very real for local authorities. In the United States, for example, while the federal government generally sets overall standards, it is municipalities that are typically charged with implementation. Therefore, specific examples of policy options that work well for local authorities on water, sanitation, and human settlements could be especially helpful in pointing the way ahead.

We look forward to further opportunities to engage with major groups and other relevant stakeholders this week, during CSD 13, and in other venues that bring together implementation actors working on water, sanitation, and human settlements and, looking to the future, on energy issues.