In the second of our Rio+20 video series, the pioneers of the past reflect on the last 20 years of sustainable development. Watch the video and tell us your thoughts
Jenny Purt guardian.co.uk 6 Mar 12;
The first Rio conference, the Earth Summit in 1992, was unprecedented for a United Nations (UN) conference both in terms of size and scope. The conference brought together over a hundred world leaders and took place under intense media scrutiny as a host of future markers were set.
"People were excited, we had more NGOs there in Rio than had ever assembled before. We had more heads of government, presidents, prime ministers and a couple of Kings," says Maurice Strong, secretary general at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, in the above video.
Addressing the need to tackle the complex environmental and social issues that now, 20 years on, are more pressing than ever. Rio Mark 1 produced a host of promises in the form of Agenda 21 and three conventions, on climate biodiversity and deserts.
"I think it's important to think about how much the Rio conference itself, 20 years ago, in fact achieved" says Gro Harlem Brundtland, chair of the Brundtland Commission.
"It is exceptional in international relations that a summit like that decides both on a climate convention and a biodiversity convention and an Agenda 21."
"The important thing is that we got an agreement beyond what anybody thought was possible," Strong says before making a point that rings throughout the video.
"The problem has been what happened afterwards which is not enough."
The theme that is apparent throughout the video is that efforts made since 1992 are nowhere near enough as the original Rio architects reflect on the outcomes of the last 20 years. How far has sustainable development really come?
"We've made some progress on awareness - 20 years ago no one was talking about the need to make development more sustainable, now just about everybody is," says Jim MacNeill, secretary general of the Brundtland Commission.
"But as far as action is concerned, the sad fact is that the unsustainable trends that prompted the United Nations to call for the establishment of a special commission in 1983 have grown steadily worse and they've now reached dangerous levels."
Yolanda Kakabadse, president at WWF International says: "I don't think we have made the necessary progress. In 20 years, I would have loved to see much more being done, more results, more concrete products of what we proposed in Rio 20 years ago.
"We wanted to have much more response from governments at a national level, at a local level and also at the international level and we haven't had enough of that.
"I think we have moved ahead with more vision maybe and commitment on the part of the civil society groups and the business sectors but definitely not enough."
Whilst the original summit achieved a lot what is clear from the video is that delivery has not been sufficient. Describing innovation in technology and advances in policy-making in both business and government as "remarkable", Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, makes the observation that whilst small advances are encouraging, no real changes will be enacted without responses being scaled-up.
We'd like to know what you think
• What are your views on how far sustainable development has come since 1992?
• What progress has been made and where have we failed?
• What does Rio+20 need to achieve to ensure a renewed commitment to sustainable development?
• How will the two climate summits differ and what challenges have emerged since 1992?
Please leave comments in the thread below or tweet your questions or answers using #regenrio.
For more background on sustainable development milestones over the last 25 years, click here.
