Lessons learned from the Commission on Sustainable Development

The report shows that the Commission on Sustainable Development has played an important role in keeping sustainable development high on the international agenda, thus demonstrating the importance of having a high-level body on this issue. The Commission has also made important contributions in a number of areas and has been very innovative in engaging major groups. The report also highlights several shortcomings in the work of the Commission, however, for example its lack of success in fully integrating economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development into its work and outcomes. Its review of and impact on implementation of sustainable development remained weak and it was not able to respond with sufficient flexibility to new and emerging issues. The Commission’s monitoring and review of the progress in the agreements related to the means of implementation — finance, technology and capacity-building — has also been judged inadequate. These lessons should be taken into account in the design of the format and modalities of the high-level political forum.