The big event of 2012 is this June at Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, where:
“World leaders along with thousands of participants from the private sector, NGOs and other groups will come together to shape how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet,” according to the conference’s Secretary General, Sha Zukang.
The thematic focus for the event is the green economy, poverty alleviation, and global policies for sustainable development.
But here’s the rub: Twenty years ago, the UN held it’s Conference on Environment and Development also in Rio de Janeiro. World government policymakers and business leaders agreed to preserve the forests, protect biodiversity, and guard against climate change.
The year 1992 was really when world discourse began on issues that are now everyday words – climate change, for example. And, despite good intentions, these issues have not lessened over the past two decades, but continue to be growing, sometimes urgent, concerns.
Compared to the commitments made 20 years ago, how did we really do? Or does it matter? Maybe the point is that it is time to look forward and take continued and consistent action.
I always wondered why we Americans didn’t know (or our news didn’t report) more about the United Nations and their (and our) role in world leadership. Soap box, please.
What are your thoughts on the United Nations? Is the UN still relevant?
Will Rio+20 change the way we live in and care for our world?
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