RIO + 20 proclaims green economy but faces many critics
The Rio +20 summit pledged Friday to promote a "green economy" saving the planet's natural resources and eradicating poverty, while the critics homed in on its lack of binding targets and funding.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/RIO-20-proclaim...
Twenty years after the Earth Summit in Rio, which raised the issue of the environment on the global agenda, the summit on sustainable development, preceded by months of discussions and negotiations, concluded in Rio de Janeiro with the adoption of a minimum compromise developed by Brazil, the host country.
188 UN countries approved the text entitled "The world we want." This was welcomed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon as "a very good document, a vision on which we can build our dreams."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also welcomed the result, "we banded together around a final declaration which marks a real step forward for sustainable development."
"We heads of State and Government (...) renew our commitment to sustainable development and towards a future economically,socially and environmentally sustainable for our planet and for present and future generations," begins the draft declaration . The main achievement is the decision to launch the "Objectives of sustainable development" (ODD) on the model of the Millennium Development Goals adopted in 2000 by the UN. However, their definition is left to a working group which will make its proposals in 2013 for implementation from 2015. These objectives should be "limited in number, and concise action-oriented," the statement said.
Rio 20 advocates a "green economy" model of development less destructive to the planet with a population expected to increase from seven billion today to 9.5 billion by 2050. But because of fears of poor countries, the definition of "green economy policies" is left to each country and the declaration stresses that they must not constitute "a disguised restriction on international trade."
Thousands of activists protested their disappointment over the three-day summit, denouncing the "failure" and lack of ambition of Rio +20. NGOs, expressed their anger at the lack of concrete results. "The failure of Rio +20 will give people more energy to mobilize and fight for the planet," said Daniel Mittler, Greenpeace, to AP.
The global financial crisis did not help the formation of concrete financing proposals to achieve the aims set out in the document, which leaves these plans as aspirations still to be achieved . A proposal for the richest nations to raise a fund of US $30 billion was not acted upon.
Some commentators noted the difficulty of multinational gatherings achieving concensus on global ecological issues, as with Copenhagen in 2009.
One positive development at Rio +20 was the emergence of corporate initiatives to back sustainable projects with cities around the world, reported The Guardian.
Peter Bakker, president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD),said business corporations could combine with cities to tackle environmental issues by working with public corporations. He pointed out that the majority of the world's populations now lived in cities.
Perhaps public private sector initiatives are a more manageable way to achieve sustainable development. The UN is facing increasing challenges in persuading nations to work together in a cordinatiated way.
188 UN countries approved the text entitled "The world we want." This was welcomed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon as "a very good document, a vision on which we can build our dreams."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also welcomed the result, "we banded together around a final declaration which marks a real step forward for sustainable development."
"We heads of State and Government (...) renew our commitment to sustainable development and towards a future economically,socially and environmentally sustainable for our planet and for present and future generations," begins the draft declaration . The main achievement is the decision to launch the "Objectives of sustainable development" (ODD) on the model of the Millennium Development Goals adopted in 2000 by the UN. However, their definition is left to a working group which will make its proposals in 2013 for implementation from 2015. These objectives should be "limited in number, and concise action-oriented," the statement said.
Rio 20 advocates a "green economy" model of development less destructive to the planet with a population expected to increase from seven billion today to 9.5 billion by 2050. But because of fears of poor countries, the definition of "green economy policies" is left to each country and the declaration stresses that they must not constitute "a disguised restriction on international trade."
Thousands of activists protested their disappointment over the three-day summit, denouncing the "failure" and lack of ambition of Rio +20. NGOs, expressed their anger at the lack of concrete results. "The failure of Rio +20 will give people more energy to mobilize and fight for the planet," said Daniel Mittler, Greenpeace, to AP.
The global financial crisis did not help the formation of concrete financing proposals to achieve the aims set out in the document, which leaves these plans as aspirations still to be achieved . A proposal for the richest nations to raise a fund of US $30 billion was not acted upon.
Some commentators noted the difficulty of multinational gatherings achieving concensus on global ecological issues, as with Copenhagen in 2009.
One positive development at Rio +20 was the emergence of corporate initiatives to back sustainable projects with cities around the world, reported The Guardian.
Peter Bakker, president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD),said business corporations could combine with cities to tackle environmental issues by working with public corporations. He pointed out that the majority of the world's populations now lived in cities.
Perhaps public private sector initiatives are a more manageable way to achieve sustainable development. The UN is facing increasing challenges in persuading nations to work together in a cordinatiated way.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/RIO-20-proclaim...