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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on countries to place the environment at the centre of global development talks. The secretary-general made the push in a report released Thursday that guides governments to consider nature alongside the economy and poverty eradication in a new development deal.

Recommendations in the secretary-general’s Road to Dignity by 2030 include a call for countries to agree to a set of goals containing environmental themes including addressing climate change, promoting sustainable industrialization, and conserving biodiversity.

A series of overarching topics – called 'elements' in the report – names the planet alongside people, dignity, prosperity, justice and partnership. The planet element specifically states the need to establish ecosystem protection for all societies and children.

“The environment can no longer be seen as a separate factor when discussing development and poverty. The secretary-general has made it clear that you cannot have true economic development that does not recognize the importance of the Earth’s natural systems. He has also made it clear that this should be a development deal that applies to all countries,” said Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International.

Earlier this year, negotiators agreed on a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 measurable targets to guide global development over the next 15 years. The development package, known formerly as the post-2015 development agenda, will replace the Millennium Development Goals set to expire in 2015.

WWF has worked over the past three years to ensure that the next global development agenda includes the environment in both its top-level goals and as targets that lie within social and economic goals. The approach places sustainability at the centre of development and links poverty reduction, economic development and the management of natural resources.

Governments will now turn concentration toward finalizing the proposed development deal and how to implement it. WWF is asking that the package include the value of natural resources –like fresh water and healthy forests – among the measures used to judge how well countries are doing at achieving the new goals. The final deal should also promote a shift in investment toward sustainable development activities, and deemphasize distorting fiscal practices like fossil fuel subsidies.

The secretary-general's report sets the stage for the next rounds of negotiations concluding with the signing of a deal at a UN summit in September.

PHOTO: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon makes remarks during the special observance of the International Day of Peace: "Peace - A Climate for Change", at UN Headquarters in New York.