"Rio+20" is the short name for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012 — 20 years after the landmark 1992 Earth Summit in Rio.
At the Rio+20 Conference, world leaders, along with thousands of participants from the private sector, NGOs and other groups, came together to shape how to reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet.
The official discussions focussed on two main themes: how to build a green economy to achieve sustainable development and lift people out of poverty; and how to improve international coordination for sustainable development.
At Rio+20, more than $513 billion was pledged to build a sustainable future.
"Rio+20 has given us a solid platform to build on. And it has given us the tools to build with. The work starts now."
– UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Why is Rio+20 important?
- The world today has 7 billion people – by 2050, there will be 9 billion.
- One out of every five people – 1.4 billion – currently lives on $1.25 a day or less.
- A billion and half people in the world don’t have access to electricity.
- Two and a half billion people don’t have a toilet.
- Almost a billion people go hungry every day.
- Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, and more than a third of all known species could go extinct if climate change continues unchecked.
Want to find out more? Read the brochure.
