UN meeting on sustainable development in Rio 2012
On 20-22 June 2012, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The United Nations General Assembly decided in 2010 that a conference (also known as Rio+20)would take place in Brazil 2012. The conference will have two main themes: a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication, and the institutional framework for sustainable development, in other words, the rules and organisational structure in the area of sustainable development.
The objective of the conference is to:
- secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development
- assess the progress to date and gaps in the implementation of the agreements from previous summits on sustainable development
- address new and emerging issues and challenges
Historical outline from the 1972 Stockholm Conference to the 2002 Johannesburg Summit
The Stockholm Conference in 1972 was the first major global environmental meeting arranged by the United Nations. One of the results of the Stockholm Conference was the creation of UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). Twenty years after the Stockholm Conference, the UN Conference on Environment and Development was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The Rio Summit, as it is known, adopted Agenda 21 - an action programme for the 21st century. The Summit also gave international recognition to the principle that all development has to be sustainable, which means that economic, social and environmental factors have to be taken into account when decisions are made. Sweden has been active in following up and further developing the decisions taken. For example, all Swedish municipalities have adopted a local Agenda 21.
Sweden was also one of the leading member countries in the preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was created to ensure effective follow-up, on the basis of a two-year work cycle. The CSD work programme has a set plan until 2017.
