The Global Ministerial Environment Forum (GMEF) and a Special Session of UNEP Governing Council took place in Bali, Indonesia from Wednesday to Friday this week. At the end of the negotiations Federal Environment Minister Dr Norbert Röttgen stated: "I welcome that the UNEP Governing Council has agreed to develop concise proposals on how to organise international environment policy much more efficiently. Currently the UN is not positioned very well in the environmental field. The UN Environment Programme in Nairobi must be enhanced and turned into a powerful international organisation for the environment".
With the support of China and the US, the EU and Brazil successfully pushed for the establishment of a Consultative Group of Ministers the remit of which is to pave the way for a fundamental reform of the UN in the environment field. Federal Environment Minister Röttgen is a member of this group. The results of the Consultative Group of Ministers will be fed into the preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development scheduled for 2012 in Rio de Janeiro – 20 years after the Rio Earth Summit. The UN environmental reform will be one of the focal issues at the summit conference.
At the fringe of the conference environment ministers also dealt with international climate policy. "In climate consultations there was a constructive and positive willingness to bridge the gaps of Copenhagen. It is now vital to take concise decisions to advance climate protection".
Minister Röttgen also welcomed the considerable progress made towards establishing an Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.