The global sustainability panel to release its final report in 2012

NEW YORK (A.A) - December 15, 2011 - The United Nations (UN) High-level Panel on Global Sustainability will issue its final report in 2012. Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, who is a member of the panel, arrived in New York on Wednesday to attend the fifth meeting of the panel. The panel has prepared a 80-page report so far on global sustainability, and is expected to issue its final report on January 12, 2012.  "This is a report that has been prepared before Rio Summit (to take place in June 2012) to which Turkey will also attend, and that is expected to steer Rio Summit," Babacan told a press conference in New York. On 9 August 2010, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability (GSP) that brings together renowned world figures to formulate a new blueprint for a sustainable future on a planet under increasing stress resulting from human activities. Recognizing that climate change, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, the destruction of ecosystems and shifting demographic and consumption patterns require bold new approaches to ensure that the world can meet the Millennium Development Goals and other development objectives, the Panel seeks to explore approaches for building a low-carbon, green and resilient economy that can eradicate poverty and ensure a dignified life for all. The GSP will issue its final report on 12 January, 2012.  Its inputs will feed into inter-governmental processes, including preparations for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio 2012), and the annual meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Panel is supported by a small secretariat within the Secretary-General's office in New York.