This year is the 20th anniversary of the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. From 20-22 June, decision-makers will again meet in Brazil to see what has been done, and what has not in the last twenty years.
Twenty years ago, the UN Earth Summit brought together 172 governments and thousands of representatives from the NGO community to put a stop to what was regarded as a cycle of decline in development. It was recognized that nothing short of a transformation of our attitude and behaviour would bring about the changes that were urgently needed in order to protect the planet from the effects of both poverty and over-consumption.
Now, in June 2012, we return to Rio with new hope of real political commitment for a new way of thinking about our future and the planet. The expressed aim of the conference is to identify the main gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the previous major summits on sustainable development, and to address the new and emerging challenges we face now.
Guardian article on the conference
What are the challenges facing the leaders meeting at Rio+20
