TIGed

RIO+20 was held from June 20-22, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Earth Summit 2012 marked the 20^th anniversary of the first UN Conference on Environment and Development, where a plan of action for sustainable development was formulated in a document called Agenda 21. Representatives from countries all over the world gathered in Rio de Janeiro to evaluate new environmental concerns, assess the disparities in implementation, and negotiate renewal of commitment.

The two main issues on the Earth Summit 2012 agenda were green economy in the context of poverty eradication and sustainable development, and institutional framework for sustainable development. Sustainable development recognizes the integration and interdependence of economic, environmental and social needs.  The rigid pursuit of one of these aspects while disregarding the importance of the other two is globally unsustainable. Given the traditional financial model where the sole focus has been only on economic gains, other aspects like ecological and social impact of business operations have been overlooked. By encouraging investment in green efficient technologies, supporting green business and by becoming conscious as consumers, the basis of a green economy can be established.

The summit did not succeed in producing any revolutionary concrete results in form of agreements of treaties, but served as a rather small step forward in propagating awareness about sustainable development. The main document of this conference aptly titled, “The Future We Want” is a vague description of what the basics of a green economy entail. The pursuit towards this goal, however, was not established at the meeting. The road to green economy is not yet paved and requires different and customized actions based on the development level of each country. The main drawback was the absence of prominent governmental representation at the conference; however certain results of the conference gave a hint of optimism for the future. There was a decision to replace the limited scope of Millennium Development Goals by the broadly encompassing Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, a commitment of $513 billion towards development projects was made by private businesses, agencies and certain governments. Under the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), countries such as Denmark, Mexico, Maldives and Nigeria independently and voluntarily signed the multi stakeholder based, Green Industry Platform, to collectively work towards the common goal of establishing green enterprises to aid in the transition towards resource and energy efficient economies. This independent initiative although signed at Rio+20, was not a result of the discussions held at the conference. 

While some countries are more prone to experiencing the destructive impacts of climate change, attempt at mitigation must be collective in order to effectively avert the possibility.  Therefore, public private partnerships, political commitments, education and awareness, technological transfer, capacity building and geopolitical relations are all vital in the move towards a green economy.

History of UN Environmental Conferences

Stockholm 1972

• The First Conference on Human Environment took place during the 1970’s when environmental consciousness was permeating political discourse.
• It brought international recognition to environmental issues, and was led by Maurice Strong, Canadian Conference Secretary General
• The United Nations Environmental Program, a very significant international support body was created as a result of this conference
• There was a specific focus on industry related environmental impacts such as habitat deterioration, acid rain and chemical management

Brundtland Commission 1987

• One of my heroes, Gro Harlem Brundtland, whose speech I had the opportunity to hear at my university, laid the widely used definition of sustainable development, at this venue
• Environmental problems in the context of  development, public health issues, and poverty alleviation in developing nations were key topics of discussion

UN Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro 1992

• Agenda 21, a comprehensive action plan which identified objectives, strategies, and management activities in relation to socio-economic and environmental conservation, was established.
• Poverty was recognized as a multidimensional problem, and the Agenda 21 document, which serves as a blueprint for sustainable development goals is modified and updated at every proceeding conference.
• There was a specific focus on biodiversity and the need for establishing a coherent global strategy on climate change at Rio 1992.

World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg 2002

• It was a stakeholder based conference where trade unions, industries, businesses, private and public institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and technological companies came together to focus on natural resource management in face of the increasing world population.

Sources: Guardian Environment and Earth Summit 2012