The third and final meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), Pre-Conference Informal Consultations Facilitated by the Host Country, and the UNCSD convened back-to-back in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 13-22 June 2012.
During their ten days in Rio, government delegations concluded the negotiations on the Rio outcome document, titled “The Future We Want.” Representatives from 191 UN member states and observers, including 79 Heads of State or Government, addressed the general debate, and approximately 44,000 badges were issued for official meetings, a Rio+20 Partnerships Forum, Sustainable Development Dialogues, SD-Learning and an estimated 500 side events in RioCentro, the venue for the Conference itself.
In closing the Conference, UNCSD President Dilma Rousseff (Brazil) stressed that Rio+20 was the most participatory conference in history and was a “global expression of democracy.” Taking place in parallel to the official events, approximately 3,000 unofficial events were organized throughout Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Governments and the Rio Conventions organized Pavilions showcasing their experiences
and best practices, and the Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development, a Global Town Hall, a People’s Summit, the World Congress on Justice, Governance and Law for Environmental Sustainability and spontaneous street actions were just a few of the many events around the historic city of Rio de Janeiro, discussing the Rio+20 themes and the broader requirements for sustainable development implementation.
Participants at Rio+20 were encouraged to make voluntary commitments for actions to implement the conference’s goals, and almost 700 had been received by the close of the
Conference, with financial commitments from governments, the private sector, civil society and other groups reaching US$513 billion.
Closing Ceremony
Closing Ceremony
The agreement adopted in Rio calls for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), at its next session, to take decisions on, inter alia: designating a body to operationalize the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production; determining the modalities for the third international conference on small island developing states, which is to convene in 2014; identifying the format and organizational
aspects of the high-level forum, which is to replace the Commission on Sustainable Development; strengthening the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); constituting a working group to develop global sustainable development goals (SDGs) to be agreed by UNGA; establishing an intergovernmental
process under UNGA to prepare a report proposing options on an effective sustainable development financing strategy; and considering a set of recommendations from the Secretary General for a facilitation mechanism that promotes the development, transfer and dissemination of clean and environmentally sound technologies. In addition, the UNGA is called on to take a decision in two years on the development of an international instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) regarding marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Furthermore, the UN Statistical Commission is
called on to launch a programme of work on broader measures to complement gross domestic product, and the UN system is encouraged, as appropriate, to support industry, interested governments and relevant stakeholders in developing models for best practice and facilitate action for the integration of
sustainability reporting. The text also includes text on tradedistorting subsidies, fisheries and fossil fuel subsidies. While many had held out hope that Rio+20 would launch new processes and significantly alter the international framework —from establishing a new High Commissioner for Future Generations, to upgrading the UN Environment Programme to the status of a specialized agency, to identifying significant
means of implementation, to establishing concrete targets and a “roadmap” for the green economy—the UNCSD outcome document was much more modest. But while some criticized the document for “kicking the can” down the road and missing an opportunity to boldly redirect sustainable development actions,
others focused on the upcoming opportunities within the UNGA
and other fora to shape the true Rio+20 legacy.
Analysis of the "Future We Want" Outcome Document of the UNCSD
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