The OECD is pleased to announce the first Annual Meeting of Sustainable Development Experts (AMSDE) at the OECD on 29 September to 1 October 2004.  

  The 2004 Ministerial Council Meeting endorsed the creation of an Annual Meeting of Sustainable Development Experts, initially for a two year period [see C/MIN(2004)2].   The AMSDE will be a venue for substantive policy dialogue on a number of sustainable development topics; it will review an annual survey of ongoing, OECD-wide work on sustainable development; and make recommendations to Council on future areas for prioritization, mainstreaming, and improved coordination on Sustainable Development among OECD bodies. 

  The Council endorsed the recommendation that future AMSDE include joint sessions consisting of relevant OECD Committee Chairs/Bureaus and expert group sessions on specific, identified areas.  We are very fortunate that Richard Manning, the Chairman of the DAC, has agreed to chair this first AMSDE.  The AMSDE next month will be largely devoted to reaching agreement among countries on the scope and budget for the 2005 and 2006 AMSDE.  A Draft Programme of Work and Budget for consideration is already available on OLIS [SG/SD(2004)10].   In particular, countries will be asked to agree on the subject matter of the horizontal work programme for the OECD in the four areas suggested by the Ad Hoc Group on Sustainable Development and endorsed by the 2004 Ministerial Council Meeting. 

  The AMSDE launches the third phase of horizontal work on Sustainable Development since 1997.  As we understand it, our goal has always been “to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living,” as enshrined in the OECD’s convention, but to do so while taking into account the needs of environmental sustainability.  In this new phase of work the focus of the horizontal project has narrowed considerably.  In essence, Ministers urged the OECD to translate its past analytic work into actionable recommendations for removing obstacles to the use of economic instruments and, thereby, better harness market forces to foster environmental sustainability.  The OECD has played an important role in bringing data and economic tools to bear on the long term protection of natural resources.   But the time has come to help countries overcome political and social barriers to the use of such tools.  To have an impact in capitals, the AMSDE must deliver concise and useful lessons about the political economy of sustainable development.
   The experts convened at this first meeting will also be asked to discuss the policy implications of two reports prepared under the Ad Hoc Group and to comment on the draft outline of the 1st Annual Report on Sustainable Development work at the OECD.  There will also be a stakeholder consultation of the experts with the OECD’s Business and Industry Advisory Committee, the Trade Union Advisory Committee and non-governmental organisations on the morning of September 30. 

To register for this meeting please contact Ms. Phyllis Flick ( tel. 33-1-45-24-90-82). 

 If you have any questions about the Annual Meeting of Sustainable Development Experts please do not hesitate to contact Bénédicte Callan (tel. 01-45-24-14-67).