Mr. Chairman,
Allow me to congratulate you on your able stewardship on the 19th Session of the Commission
on Sustainable Development.
The State of Israel attaches great importance to the deliberations of the CSD and appreciates
the opportunity to contribute to this global dialogue on transport, chemicals, waste
management, mining, and the ten-year framework of programs on sustainable consumption
and production.
With the clear goal of promoting sustainable development, the international community must
pay significant attention to each of these pressing issues. This policy session provides an
opportunity to reach mutual understandings to develop and implement innovative solutions in
each of these areas.

Mr. Chairman,
Allow me to provide three general comments about the draft document before us.
First, I wish to reaffirm that Israel recognizes the importance of long-term planning for
sustainable transport. My government believes that the document should be more specific and
set targets and timetables for achieving major sustainable transportation objectives.
Second, I would like to emphasize that it is imperative for all countries to adopt sustainable
chemical management policies, particularly given the continued introduction of new chemicals
into different economies around the world. To this end, harmonized and uniform international
agreements on chemicals should be ratified worldwide. In addition, my government believes
that we must seek to integrate into our national policies on chemical management, proven
systems and mechanisms that are known to protect human health and the environment.
Third, Israel believes that an additional paragraph should be added to the draft decision
devoted to sustainable materials management. This paragraph should reflect the growing
consensus about the need to move from ?waste policies? to ?materials policies,? which cover
the full life cycle of products and manufactured goods. With this goal in mind, Israel continues
to promote a revolution in our country that turns waste from ?nuisance to resource.?

Mr. Chairman,

As our time is limited today, I will leave the rest of my delegation?s comments and ideas for the
working groups.
I would also like to extend an invitation to all delegations to a working breakfast that Israel?s
Minister of Environmental Protection will be hosting on the last day of the Commission, May
13th. This breakfast will provide an opportunity for exchanging views, experiences, and best
practices on using mass media to promote more sustainable consumption patterns.
To conclude, Mr. Chairman,
My delegation hopes that our deliberations will keep with the spirit of this professional
committee and remain focused on the pressing issues at hand.
Israel looks forward to working closely with all member states to achieve a meaningful outcome
document for this session.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.