In 2009, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) decided "to organize, in 2012, the United Nations conference on Sustainable Development at the highest possible level, including Heads of State and Government or other representatives, and in this regard accepts with gratitude the generous offer of the Government of Brazil to host the Conference" (paragraph 20 of the resolution A/RES/64/236).
It is our hope that the outcome should be "forward-looking and action oriented" and should result in a "focused, political document".
Objectives
The objectives of Rio+20 cover a vast terrain in terms of political debates and possible outcomes.
The first objective is to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development. Against the backdrop of numerous crises, there has only been a lukewarm political commitment to sustainable development and the most relevant negotiations seem to attract very few Heads of State (with the exception of the UNFCCC's 15th Conference of Parties on Copenhagen). Hence, the Rio+20 Bureau recently identified renewed political commitment as the most important of objective of Rio+20.
The second objective is to assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development. The underlying rationale to this is that both Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration offered a lot of political food to the international community, which mostly remains relevant today. The bottleneck in achieving progress has been effective implementation, and the Rio+20 conference needs to bring additional guidance on this.
The last objective is to address new and emerging challenges. The Conference Secretary General, Mr. Sha Zukang, highlights some new and emerging challenges for consideration:
- Green jobs and social inclusion;
- Energy access, efficiency and sustainability;
- Food security and sustainable agriculture;
- Sound water management;
- Sustainable cities;
- Management of the oceans; and
- Improved resilience and disaster preparedness.
The information above is taken from - Rioplustwenties, 2011. Rio+20 Participation Guide - An introduction for children and youth. Brussels
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