We at Ethical Markets, as full participants in RIO+20 agree! The wide support for growing green economies shows the way forward!”, Hazel Henderson, Editor
UN SENIOR OFFICIALS HIGHLIGHT RIO+20 ACHIEVEMENTS New York, Jun 28 2012
4:05PM United Nations senior officials today highlighted the achievements
made during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
(Rio+20) held last week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, stressing that they
represent a global movement of change in which governments, the private
sector and civil society all contribute to achieve global prosperity while
protecting the environment.
“Let me be clear. Rio+20 was a success,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
at a General Assembly meeting on the outcome of the Conference. “In Rio, we
saw the further evolution of an undeniable global movement for change.”
More than 40,000 people – including parliamentarians, mayors, UN officials,
chief executive officers and civil society leaders – attended Rio+20 from
20-22 June. The event followed on from the Earth Summit in 1992, also held
in Rio de Janeiro, during which countries adopted Agenda 21 – a blueprint to
rethink economic growth, advance social equity and ensure environmental
protection.
In his
remarks, Mr.
Ban highlighted several parts of the Rio+20 outcome document, entitled ‘The
Future We Want,’ which he hailed as “an important victory for
multilateralism after months of difficult negotiations.”
Through the document, the UN chief said, countries renewed their political
commitment to sustainable development, agreed to establish a set of
sustainable development goals (SDGs), and established a high-level political
forum on sustainable development.
The outcome document also calls for a wide range of actions, such as
detailing how the green economy can be used as a tool to achieve sustainable
development; strengthening the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); promoting
corporate sustainability reporting measures; taking steps to go beyond gross
domestic product to assess the well-being of a country; developing a
strategy for sustainable development financing; and, adopting a framework
for tackling sustainable consumption and production.
It also focuses on improving gender equity; recognizing the importance of
voluntary commitments on sustainable development; and stressing the need to
engage civil society and incorporate science into policy; among other
points.
Mr. Ban emphasized the importance of the more than 700 commitments
registered during the Conference.
“This is a remarkable testament to bottom-up, grassroots commitment,” Mr.
Ban said. “The world is watching and will hold us all accountable to the
commitments made in Rio.”
In his remarks to the gathering, the President of the General Assembly,
Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, called on Member States to respect their commitments
made in relation to Rio+20 “so that they can guide our future actions.”
“Implementation is imperative if we are to attain the future we want,” he
added. “Now that the summit is over, the real work begins, and we all have
our parts to play for ultimate success.”
Mr. Al-Nasser reiterated the Assembly’s commitment to play a central role in
helping define and establish the SDGs. He also announced a series of
meetings in the area of sustainable development and global prosperity, to
help tackle the issue related to the global financial crises, which are also
linked to countries’ capabilities to work towards sustainable development.
“No country has been completely immune from the global economic and
financial crisis that hit the world in 2008. To tackle this issue
successfully, the world needs to come together like never before and act
collectively with a sense of urgency,” he said.
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For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news