Rio+20 or Bust: Zero Draft of Outcome Document for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development Released
In June, the world's leaders will meet in Rio to set the global sustainability agenda for the next decade. Boa sorte!
The United Nations has released the long-awaited "zero draft" of outcomes for the parties to negotiate at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD). To be held in Rio de Janeiro from June 20-22, UNCSD is also known as "Rio+20" as it marks the 20th anniversary of 1992's "Earth Day," the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which was also held in Rio. The goal of the conference is to set the global sustainability agenda for the next decade. The pressure is on for this landmark event, and the delegates know it.
"Rio+20 will be one of the most important global meetings on sustainable development in our time," said Kim Sook, South Korea's ambassador to the United Nations and the co-chair of the Bureau of the Preparatory Process of the UNCSD in a speech at the Rio+20 Second Intersessional Meeting last month in New York.[1]
ZERO DRAFT: A ROADMAP TO 2030
The overall objective of Rio+20 according to UNCSD is "to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, and address new and emerging challenges."[2]
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Reynard is a Justmeans staff writer for Sustainable Finance and Corporate Social Responsibility. A former media executive with 15 years experience in the private and non-profit sectors, Reynard is the co-founder of MomenTech, a New York-based experimental production studio that explores transnational progressivism, neo-nomadism, post-humanism and futurism. He is also author of the blog 13.7 Billion Years, covering cosmology, biodiversity, animal welfare, conservation and ethical consumption. He is currently developing the Underground Desert Living Unit (UDLU), a sustainable single-family dwelling envisioned as a potential adaptation response to the future loss of human habitat due to the effects of anthropogenic climate change. Reynard is also a contributing author of "Biomes and Ecosystems," a comprehensive reference encyclopedia of the Earth's key biological and geographic classifications, to be published by Salem Press in 2013.
