Andrew C. Revkin Dot Earth, NY Times I’m posting a few final reflections related to the “Rio+20” United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which marked the 20th anniversary of the first “Earth Summit” and concluded ingloriously in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. If there is to be a 40th anniversary, what approaches or initiatives
Rocky road to Rio
R M Fransson, Denver, Colorado, US Guardian Weekly Letters Following Rio 1992 there have been four doublings: of world population, of made-up money in circulation, of carbon dioxide emissions and a doubling of the mid-point temperature rise. Net result: fiscal chaos, population surge, wasteful excess and irreversible climate change. John Vidal (Ecological web is badly
Council of Canadians denounces Canada’s role at Rio+20 summit
Council of Canadians Press Release The Rio+20 Earth Summit has failed to produce the commitments needed for a more just and sustainable future for the planet. The Council of Canadians denounces the role that Canada has played in this outcome at these critical United Nations negotiations. Canada has been widely recognized as being the
The Failure of Rio, Fighting for the Future We Want.
By Anil Naidoo Council of Canadians After a difficult negotiation process that highlighted the deep divisions within the United Nations, Member States reached consensus on a new 50-page document titled ”The Future We Want,” at the the Rio+20 UN Earth Summit, taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil June 20-22, 2012. The document is
Rio Declaration is Not ‘The Future We Want’
Statement by Alden Meyer Union of Concerned Scientists The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (or Rio+20) ends today with leaders and ministers from more than 190 countries endorsing a political declaration on “the Future We Want.” Below is a statement by Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of
Rio+20: Ban announces more than 100 commitments on sustainable energy
UN News Centre 21 June 2012 – Speaking at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon today announced that more than one hundred commitments and actions have been already mobilized in support of the UN’s global sustainable energy initiative. “Achieving sustainable energy for all is not only possible, but necessary
‘Rio+20 Has Become the Summit of Futility’
Charles Hawley Der Spiegel Twenty years ago, the United Nations summit held in Rio de Janeiro paved the way for landmark agreements on the climate and the environment. This year’s meeting, on the other hand, has been widely criticized for its lack of vision in the face of accelerating degradation of the planet. German
Rio+20: Proposing a utopia
By Michel Lambert rabble.ca The Earth Summit of the United Nations being held in Rio de Janeiro had yet to begin, and the specialists were already predicting a dire impasse over the issues of climate change and even setbacks on such central challenges as the human right to water and the protection of biodiversity. In
Palm trees and controversy: the world’s top judges and lawyers at Rio+20
The influence of UK supreme court judge, Lord Carnwath, led to the world congress’s most important recommendation Stanley Johnson guardian.co.uk, The world congress on justice, governance and law for environmental sustainabilty, which took place June 17-20 under the sponsorship of the UN environment programme, held both its opening and concluding sessions in the magnificent setting
Action Alert: Rio+20: Protest Global Leaders Obama, Merkel and Cameron’s Absence
Rainforest Portal Ecological Internet As the world faces an unprecedented ecological and social emergency, leaders of the US, UK and Germany dawdle as Earth burns. Their absent, failed leadership obstructs international efforts to protect our one collapsing biosphere while sustainably meeting all of humanity’s basic needs. Demand that the absent leaders from Rio+20 immediately make
Urgent: Save Rio, Save the Planet
Iain Keith Avaaz.org Over a million people have called on world leaders to end fossil fuel subsidies at the Rio Earth Summit — a no-brainer policy that could take one trillion tax dollars from Big Oil and reinvest it in green energy. But they’ve failed to deliver — even with the backing of the
Compilation: Rio+20 UN Earth Summit: The Future Written-Off to Privatize/Commodify Nature for Profit, Betray Life and Just Sit Around Talk’n!
Glen MacIntosh ecoSanity.org Go to Glen MacIntosh’s compilation
Diplomats agree on ‘weak’ text for Rio+20 summit
By Nina Chestney and Valerie Volcovici AlertNet/Reuters * Text fails to define ‘sustainable development goals’ * Environmentalists criticize text, urge action on climate * Decision on high seas governance postponed three years * Big city mayors craft green strategy of their own RIO DE JANEIRO, June 19 (Reuters) – Diplomats from over 190
Rio+20: THE WORLD’S TOP 10 The most-supported recommendation by topic
http://vote.riodialogues.org/ Sustainable Energy for All Take concrete steps to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies Forests Restore 150 million hectares of deforested and degraded lands by 2020 Water Secure water supply by protecting biodiversity, ecosystems and water sources Food & Nutrition Security Promote food systems that are sustainable and contribute to improvement of health Oceans Avoid
Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies Must Be One of the Major Outcomes of Rio+20
Jake Schmidt, Switchboard NRDC What if I told you that governments around the world were spending almost $1 trillion dollars a year to subsidize activities that are driving global warming? What if I told you that the leaders of the major countries had committed to phase-out these fossil fuel subsidies in 2009 but they
