The purpose of the CSD is to ensure follow-up and to guide the implementation of commitments made in Agenda 21. The CSD is composed of 53 UN member states and is open to participation from a range of NGOs and other actors. It meets in thematic "cycles" that last two years and that are focused on various issues related to sustainable development, such as water, energy, desertification and waste.
The latest cycle of the CSD focused on climate, energy, air pollution and industrial development and concluded on 12 May. Parties were unable to reach an agreement. According to observers, in the final days of the CSD there was poor co-operation and an atmosphere of confrontation between delegates from western industrialised and developing nations.
Speaking on behalf of the EU in a joint press release of 12 May, Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas and German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel expressed their disappointment at the outcome of this CSD cycle. The EU considers that sustainable development "needs an integrated approach and the CSD is the right body to take this forward. It is regrettable that the CSD 15 did not succeed in playing that role."
An agreement in the CSD would have provided indirect support to EU commitments made in March 2007 to cut emissions by 20% before the year 2020. The failure of the CSD may also send a negative signal with respect to the UN climate- change conference in Bali in December 2007, when parties to the Kyoto Protocol will meet to discuss a global climate-change strategy beyond 2012, the expiry date of the Kyoto Protocol.
