Environmental issues and sustainable development

RIO DE JANEIRO, 22 June — High-level officials of nearly every Member State meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, renewed their commitments to ensuring an “economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future for our planet and for present and future generations”, as the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development — Rio+20 — closed this afternoon.

RIO DE JANEIRO, 20 June — With the planet increasingly under stress from climate change and a human population exhausting life’s vital resources, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged delegates gathered in Rio de Janeiro to face “an existential reality”: the old model of economic and social advancement was broken and it was time to agree on a new blueprint to end poverty, ensure social equity and protect the environment.

Renewing political commitments for sustainable development and launching new initiatives to reduce poverty and social inequities while promoting economic growth and environmental sustainability will be at the heart of deliberations at Rio+20 — the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – to be held 20-22 June in Rio de Janeiro.

The United Nations Forum on Forests Secretariat, in partnership with the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, has launched a new global multimedia initiative that will highlight the relationship between people and forests at the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development.

Representatives from Governments and civil society organizations will gather tomorrow for the third and final preparatory meeting for Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro from 20 to 22 June.

Negotiators concluded the last round of “Rio+20” preparatory talks in New York on Saturday, making progress that will pave the way for many outcomes and initiatives on major global sustainability issues later this month at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro from 20 to 22 June.

With less than one month to Rio+20, the next round of negotiations between Governments to forge the outcome document for the major global conference on sustainable development will take place at the United Nations from 29 May to 2 June.

Representatives from Governments negotiating the Rio+20 outcome document agreed to add another five days to their deliberations in order to bridge differences that have hampered progress to date. The move came as the latest round of negotiations concluded with some progress made, but much work left outstanding.

Representatives from Governments and civil society will start a new round of negotiations that will shape the outcome of “Rio+20”, a major global conference that will have a significant impact on how the world will address key challenges affecting economic growth, social well-being and environmental protection in the years ahead.

A two-day conference to be held in New York City later this month, “Envision 2012: Stories for a Sustainable Future”, will focus on developing a better global future with opportunity for all, building on three key issues: just and sustainable cities; clean water; and green energy.