Fill regulatory gaps in international sustainability governance: New or strengthened international regulatory frameworks are needed in several areas, including on emerging technologies, water, food, and energy.

In addition to strengthening existing treaties, there are numerous areas where new frameworks are needed. One is the development and deployment of such technologies as nanotechnology, synthetic biology and geoengineering. These emerging technologies promise significant benefits, but also pose major risks for sustainable development. They therefore need an international institutional framework to support forecasting, transparency and information-sharing on new technologies; further develop technical standards; help clarify the applicability of existing treaties; promote public discussion and input; and engage multiple stakeholders in policy dialogues. Such a framework must ensure that environmental considerations are fully respected. Initially, multilateral action on emerging technologies could take the form of one or more framework conventions.

Global water governance also needs a stronger and more coherent multilateral framework, since it remains the remit of several UN agencies and civil society organizations. Global food governance must be strengthend as well. Regulatory challenges here include international management of food safety and nutrition, the coordination of climate change adaptation in food systems, limits on commodity speculation, and standards to guide private regulation such as certification and labeling schemes. Furthermore, energy governance requires strong oversight by global bodies whose activities are currently dispersed and poorly coordinated.

This text is an excerpt from the Policy Brief Transforming Governance and Institutions for a Planet under Pressure. Revitalizing the Institutional Framework for Global Sustainability. A longer, fully referenced version of the policy brief is available as Earth System Governance Working Paper No. 17.