HOT TOPICS – THE ROAD FROM RIO: REFLECTING ON THE JUNE 2012 U.N. CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
July 17, 2012, 12:00pm
Location: Oakes 007
The Environmental Law Center presents the Hot Topics in Environmental Law 2012 Summer Brown Bag Lecture Series.
Linda Sheehan, Earth Law Center: Presenting a first-person account and summary of the “”Rio +20″” conference, attended by tens of thousands of delegates and stakeholders, and outlining the potential benefits and limitations of the final international agreement.
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The “Rio+20,” sustainable development conference was organized in pursuance of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 64/236 (A/RES/64/236). Rio, of course recognizes that the conference was held in Rio De Janeiro, and +20 refers to the twenty years since the 1992 Earth Summit at which Agenda 21 was adopted. Agenda 21 was a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment.
The Rio+20 website describes the conference themes:
(a) a green economy in the context of sustainable development poverty eradication; and (b) the institutional framework for sustainable development.
The preparations for Rio+20 have highlighted seven areas which require priority attention including: decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster readiness.
The web site contains links to a daily journal, issue briefs, green economy policies and practices. Of particular interest are the voluntary commitments for sustainable development made by member states, The UN, and major organizations with the commitment to concrete results.
In addition to marking the mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro, this conference commemorates the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.
JULIEN contains a number of books on Agenda 21, including:
Agenda 21 & the UNCED proceedings / Nicholas A. Robinson, editor, with Parvez Hassan & Françoise Burhenne-Guilmin ; under the auspices of the Commission on Environmental Law of the World Conservation Union, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992 : Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. (Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992).
Books on 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development are also available on JULIEN.
Carl Yirka
Julien & Virginia Cornell Library 