Rio Earth summit and its prominent delegates

Hello Everybody!

I am Resource Man here again . I hope my blogs are very useful and informative for you.

So today I am going to tell you about the 1992 Rio Earth Summit by UN to discuss about the environmental concern.

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit)
(3-14 June 1992, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

 Heads of State and Government gathered for a group photograph at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as the media, delegates and staff members looked on.    UN Photo/ Tom Prendergast

history of sustainable development in the United Nations dates back to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972.
Twenty years later, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the United Nations sought to help Governments rethink economic development and find ways to stop polluting the planet and depleting it's natural resources.
The two-week "Earth Summit" was the climax of a process that had begun in December 1989, of planning, education and negotiations among all Member States of the United Nations, leading to the adoption of Agenda 21, an official global consensus on development and environmental cooperation.
Basic to Agenda 21 was the acknowledgement that protecting the environment required collaboration across boundaries. Agenda 21 was meant to reflect an international consensus to support and supplement national strategies and plans for sustainable development. It calls for all States to participate in improving, protecting and better managing ecosystems, and taking common responsibility for the future. As stated in the preamble to Agenda 21, “No nation can achieve this on its own. Together we can—in a global partnership for sustainable development.”
The Earth Summit produced 27 principles—the ‘Rio Declaration’—on new and equitable partnerships and development through cooperation among States, social sectors and individuals. They reflect human beings’ responsibility for sustainable development; the right of States to use their own resources for their environmental and development policies; and the need for State cooperation in poverty eradication and environmental protection. The idea is that States must act in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem

Prominet Speeches

Severn Suzuki:-Hello, I'm Severn Suzuki speaking for "ECO" -- the Environmental Children’s Organization.

We are a group of 12 and 13 year-olds trying to make a difference: Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler, Michelle Quigg, and me. We’ve raised all the money to come here ourselves -- to come 5,000 miles to tell you adults you must change your ways.

Coming up here today, I have no hidden agenda. I am fighting for my future. Losing my future is not like losing an election, or a few points on the stock market.

I am here to speak for all generations to come. I am here to speak -- speak on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard. I am here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet, because they have nowhere left to go. I am afraid to go out in the sun now, because of the holes in our ozone. I am afraid to breathe the air, because I don’t know what chemicals are in it.

I used to go in -- I used to go fishing in Vancouver, my home, with my Dad until, just a few years ago, we found the fish full of cancers. And now we hear of animals and plants going extinct every day, vanishing forever. In my life, I have dreamt of seeing the great herds of wild animals, jungles, and rainforests full of birds and butterflies, but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children to see.

Did you have to worry of these things when you were my age? All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions. I’m only a child and I don’t have all the solutions. I don't -- I want you to realize, neither do you. You don’t know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer. You don’t know how to bring the salmon back up in a dead stream. You don’t know how to bring back an animal now extinct. And you can’t bring back the forests that once grew where there is now a desert. If you don’t know how to fix it, please stop breaking it.

Here, you may be delegates of your governments, business people, organizers, reporters, or politicians. But, really, you are mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles -- and all of you are someone’s child.

I’m only a child, yet I know we are all part of a family -- five billion strong; in fact 30 million species strong --  and borders and governments will never change that. I’m only a child, yet I know we are all in this together and should act as one single world towards one single goal.In -- In my anger, I'm not blind; and in my fear, I'm not afraid of telling the world how I feel. In my country we make so much waste, we buy and throw away, buy and throw away, buy and throw away and yet Northern countries will not share with the needy. Even when we have more than enough we are afraid to share; we are afraid to let go of some of our wealth.

In Canada, we live the privileged life. We’ve plenty of food, water, and shelter. We have watches, bicycles, computers, and television sets. The list could go on for two days. Two days ago, here in Brazil, we were shocked when we spent time with some children living on the streets. This is what one child told us: "I wish I was rich and if I were, I would give all the street children food, clothes, medicines, shelter, and love and affection."

If a child on the streets who has nothing is willing to share, why are we who have everything still so greedy? I can’t stop thinking that these are children my own age, that it makes a tremendous difference where you are born; that I could be one of those children living in the favelas of Rio. I could be a child starving in Somalia, or a victim of war in the Middle East, or a beggar in India. I am only a child, yet I know if all the money spent on war was spent on finding environmental answers ending poverty and in finding treaties, what a wonderful place this Earth would be.

At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us how to behave in the world. You teach us to not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then, why do you go out and do -- do the things you tell us not to do? Do not forget why you are attending these conferences -- who you're doing this for. We are your own children. You are deciding what kind of a world we are growing up in.

Parents should be able to comfort their children by saying, "Everything's going to be all right; it’s not the end of the world, and we're -- and we're doing the best we can." But I don’t think you can say that to us anymore. Are we even on your list of priorities?

My dad always says, "You are what you do, not what you say." Well, what you do makes me cry at night. You grown-ups say you love us. But I challenge you, please, make your actions reflect your words.

Thank you.

Kiwi:-"I'm here to fight for my future. That's it," she said.

She said environmental problems were getting worse and not enough was being done to change that.

"We plunder away our natural resources, diminishing our biodiversity, our oceans, our forests, and then we demand more."

Her speech follows in the tradition of Severn Suzuki, "the girl who silenced the world for six minutes" after her speech at the original 1992 Earth Summit in Rio as a 12-year-old.

But unlike Severn, who gave her moving speech to a largely empty auditorium, Brittany had a packed room still watching for her speech.

She referred back to the famous speech.

"People at that summit knew there had to be change. Our systems were failing, collapsing all around us. And these people came together to acknowledge these challenges, to work for something better, to commit to something better.

"They made great promises, promises that when I read them still leave me feeling hopeful.

"These promises are left not broken - but empty."

She called on leaders to come together for a common good, over stock market gains, ending her speech: "As I stand here to face you today I wonder; are you here to hedge your bets and see what happens?

"To save face or to save us? Thanks You."

Caroline Spelman:-Ladies and Gentleman, thank you for joining us this morning.

In four months' time, the world will meet to plot the path to sustainable development and green economic growth at Rio +20.

What will govern it is the level of ambition.

Today I will set out the Government's priorities.

And let me tell you, ladies and gentleman, that I, for one, am ambitious.

Because, frankly, our economic, social and environmental security –our future well-being – relies on tangible outcomes from Rio+20.

Not just exhortations and aspirations.

It has to be a workshop, not a talking shop.

Let's just remind ourselves of what's at stake here:

Today, over a billion people still live in poverty;
Today, two thirds of the world's ecosystems are still in decline ;
And today we are facing economic challenges on a scale not seen for decades – challenges of delivering growth, prosperity; equality, employment and quality of life.

We've come a long way since the first Earth Summit 20 years ago - and it's important to acknowledge that.

Many of the organisations represented here today have been crucial to the shift we've seen.

Sustainable development is no longer a sideline or an afterthought.

There's real recognition that it matters, and our location here, in the City of London, is testament to that.

But – and it's a big but – some people still think that there's a tension between being green and delivering growth.

I disagree. Being green is integral to sustainable economic growth.

If we fail to protect our natural resources we'll make long term economic growth impossible.

We have the evidence:

We have Nicolas Stern's estimates that global GDP will fall by a quarter because of climate change;
We know that deforestation costs the global economy up to $4.5 trillion a year;
We know that 1.2 billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods;
And we know that the natural world underpins 40% on the global economy.

We have the evidence.

What we need is action.

This government is determined to see Rio +20 trigger that action.

To deliver outcomes that will make a real, lasting difference to the economy, to the environment, and to our well-being.

[the UK position]

So let's get specific.

The UN's negotiating text – the 'zero draft' – has been titled simply 'The Future We Want'.

It's a strong title, and a good start.

But the text lacks focus and ambition.

It needs to be a lot stronger if Rio+20 is to deliver the transformational change that we know it can.

And it's missing some important elements.

[1. Green growth]

It doesn't properly make the case for green growth.

It doesn't explicitly link natural resources, poverty, and the economy.

Rio has to recognise that interdependency.

So we will be pushing for a clear commitment to sustainable development and green growth from politicians around the world.

We need to make clear that long term, sustainable growth can only be achieved with efficient use of resources; the reduction of carbon emissions; and the eradication of poverty.

This is something we all here understand.

A growing number of companies, including those represented here today, recognise that their own success is directly linked to sustainability:

Companies like Aviva - calling for global leadership on sustainability reporting;
Companies like Unilever - committing to halve the environmental impact of their products by 2020;
And companies like Marks and Spencers - who saved over 70 million pounds last year, and 50 million pounds the year before, through resource efficiency.

The recognition is spreading. Over 90 percent of CEOs now think of sustainability as the most pressing issue facing their business.

In a world facing the challenge of resource security, sustainable business practices need to become commonplace – not just for the sake of corporate responsibility, but to protect the bottom line.

And there are also opportunities to be had. Resource efficiency offers UK companies £23 billion of savings. It offers the global business sector savings of £2.9 trillion.

We need the private sector across the world to be inspired – at and beyond Rio+20 – to seek out these kinds of new opportunities, new products and innovations, new investment and markets.

I have really been heartened by the efforts that UK businesses and NGOs are making to drive forward the green economy.

I'm working with UKTI to encourage the Brazilians to host a trade fair at Rio, and we are keen to work with businesses and civil society on plans for what the Brazilians are calling the 'middle bit'.

We need to work together – because there is much work still to do.

[2. Mainstreaming]

Ban Ki Moon's panel said last week that Sustainable Development is not yet mainstreamed into economic policy on an international scale. We still do not value our natural resources.

Rio has to put this right.

We want action to ensure that businesses and governments factor sustainability into every decision they make- and for this to be transparent.

So we will join the call for Rio to drive uptake of sustainable business practices – in particular transparent and coherent sustainability reporting.

Not as a burden on business, but as something they are asking for. We need companies to do this as a matter of course, and we need shareholders and investors to demand it.

[3. Natural capital/green accounting]

We will call for governments to take steps to measure and account for their natural and social capital, as well as their GDP.

It's becoming more and more apparent that GDP is not a perfect measure of progress, because it deals solely with economic output. It does not consider the other factors that contribute to sustainable growth such as natural resources, or social wellbeing.

Known as 'GDP+' it's an area where the UK is taking the lead.

Our Prime Minister is taking steps to measure the well being of society, recognising the need to reflect our quality of life.

We're establishing a Committee that reports to the Chancellor on the state of natural capital in England.

The Office of National Statistics is looking to embed natural capital in our environmental accounts by 2020.

We're working with the World Bank on their Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services, which pilot new approaches to wealth accounting in a number of developing countries.

We're working to develop indicators which will allow us to measure and track progress towards a green economy.

We want to share these experiences in Rio.

Because it is essential we create the conditions for the value of nature to be reflected in everyday decisions.

We've made a start here in the UK – we've worked with business to establish an Ecosystem Market Task Force – chaired by Ian Cheshire - that looks at the opportunities for businesses to develop new green goods and services.

Rio provides an opportunity to showcase this kind of approach on a global scale.

[4. Sectors]

So we need that political commitment.

We need to drive green growth.

We need to mainstream sustainability into decision making of governments and businesses across the world.

In addition to all of this, I want to see a real focus on the specific global challenges we face.

Agriculture, water, and energy are fundamental to our economy and to the lives of many of the world's poorest people; and they are inseparable

Ban Ki Moon's excellent report notes that by 2030, the world will need at least 50% more food, 45% more energy, and 30% more water.

And we need to produce this without further damaging our environment.

So my ambition at Rio is to chart a clear course of action on food security and sustainable agriculture – one of the most pressing issues of our time. The UK Foresight project identified the scale of the challenges facing the global food system.

We need to produce more food, with less impact - particularly if we are to feed a billion extra mouths in 13 years time.

We need sustainable intensification that takes account of available water resources. We need to reduce waste, and we need to be climate smart.

I want to see water high up on the agenda.

In addition to its importance for food security and energy, access to safe and clean drinking water is one of the basic requirements for development – and a prerequisite for green growth.

And I want to see action on sustainable energy for all.

Sustainable energy is fundamental to growth and prosperity – and is currently a luxury that a quarter of the world's population cannot afford.

So I warmly support the UN Secretary General's Sustainable Energy for All by 2030 initiative, which will be launched this year at Rio+20.

This initiative has an important emphasis on raising private capital, and we shall co-ordinate this with the support we provide to sustainable energy from the International Climate Fund - to ensure that our public finances have maximum impact.

[5. SDGs]

The international community has not made sufficient progress on these issues. We need renewed focus to drive forward change.

Which is why the UK will call for Sustainable Development goals to drive international action on linked challenges such as food security, water security, and access to energy – as an absolute priority.

We have seen the role that global goals can play.

Just look at the impact of Millennium Development Goals – which over the last 12 years have helped get the world on track to reduce the levels of poverty and tackle development issues.

The international community now needs to step up to the mark and work towards goals that tackle the great sustainability challenges.

Sustainable Development Goals – proposed by the Colombian Government – would give us the makings of real progress.

Progress our generation has a moral obligation to deliver.

Let me be absolutely clear that SDGs cannot and should not attract attention away from achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 – the UK is firmly committed to achieving this.

We must work towards a clear position beyond 2015 – one which builds on the existing MDGs, and one in which the Sustainable Development Goals could play an important part.

[conclusion]

So I think we have a strong message to take to Rio.

I will be working hard with my colleagues in the EU for a strong common position, and with colleagues internationally to make sure that we harness the political will from Durban.

Governments can and must provide the framework for green growth;

Through reducing or removing environmentally harmful subsidies;
Through getting price signals right;
Through standards and voluntary approaches;
And through valuing natural resources, developing indicators of green growth.

And I genuinely believe this Government is leading the way with that agenda.

In the UK, the Green Deal, the Green Investment Bank, our Climate Change Agreements, EU Emissions Trading Schemes, and the our Natural Environment and Water White Papers are all key examples of our efforts to provide this kind of framework

But the private sector and civil society have a major role to play in delivering the green economy:

through trade, innovation, and investment;
And through campaigning, evidence, and implementation.

I realise that we are in tough times, but I hope that many of you will be involved in the summit, and the preparations for it.

I want to hear you making the case for green growth – to embed sustainable development in the economy of tomorrow.

I want you to help us push the envelope on natural capital and green accounting.

And I want to see you striving for solutions to the challenges of energy, agriculture and water resources.

These are ambitions that will see us agree achievable and practical outcomes.

Generating the political will and a proper understanding of what we need to do.

An understanding that inspires real change in the world through sustainable development and green economic growth.

Representing the fusion of economic and environment recovery.

And above all demonstrate to the world that this country is an environmental leader pursuing goals that balance environmental responsibility and economic security for today and for tomorrow.

Thank you.

 Fidel Castro:-“An important biological species – humankind – is at risk of disappearing due to the rapid and progressive elimination of its natural habitat. We are becoming aware of this problem when it is almost too late to prevent it. It must be said that consumer societies are chiefly responsible for this appalling environmental destruction.

They were spawned by the former colonial metropolis. They are the offspring of imperial policies which, in turn, brought forth the backwardness and poverty that have become the scourge for the great majority of humankind.

“With only 20% of the world’s population they consume two-thirds of all metals and three-fourths of the energy produced worldwide. They have poisoned the seas and the rivers. They have polluted the air. They have weakened and perforated the ozone layer. They have saturated the atmosphere with gases, altering climatic conditions with the catastrophic effects we are already beginning to suffer.

“The forests are disappearing. The deserts are expanding. Billions of tons of fertile soil are washed every year into the sea. Numerous species are becoming extinct. Population pressures and poverty lead to desperate efforts to survive, even at the expense of nature.

Third World countries, yesterday’s colonies and today nations exploited and plundered by an unjust international economic order, cannot be blamed for all this.

The solution cannot be to prevent the development of those who need it the most. Because today, everything that contributes to underdevelopment and poverty is a flagrant rape of the environment.

As a result, tens of millions of men, women and children die every year in the Third World, more than in each of the two world wars.

Unequal trade, protectionism and the foreign debt assault the ecological balance and promote the destruction of the environment. If we want to save humanity from this self-destruction, wealth and available technologies must be distributed better throughout the planet. Less luxury and less waste in a few countries would mean less poverty and hunger in much of the world.”

George H W Bush:-"Let's face it, there has been some criticism of the United States. But I must tell you, we come to Rio proud of what we have accomplished and committed to extending the record on American leadership on the environment. In the US we have the world's tightest air quality standards on cars and factories, the most advanced laws for protecting lands and waters, the most open processes for public participation.

"Now for a simple truth: America's record on environmental protection is second to none. So I did not come here to apologise. We come to press on with deliberate purpose and forceful action. Such action will demonstrate our continuing commitment to leadership and to international co-operation on the environment.

"There are those who say it takes state control to protect the environment. Well, let them go to eastern Europe, where the poisoned bodies of children now pay for the sins of fallen dictators, and only the new breeze of freedom is allowing for clean-up.

"Today we realise that growth is the engine of change and a friend of the environment. Today an unprecedented era of peace, freedom and stability makes concerted action on the environment possible as never before."

Razali Ismail:-I make this speech mindful that we are gathered here to make an objective and honest assessment of the commitments made at the Earth Summit five years ago. Our task of reviewing the implementation of Agenda 21 must go beyond simply calculating ratios of progress versus deterioration. This is a time for critical reflection and concrete action.

Recognizing that we are tied in a network of mutuality and common destiny, and in a spirit of partnership, I extend a warm welcome to representatives of different sectors of civil society. For the first time, you, as stakeholders, shall participate in the United Nations General Assembly alongside governments.

In Rio, we recognized that the Earth's biosphere -- that thin layer of land, air and water that forms the surface tissue of our beautiful blue planet, upon which all life on Earth depends -- is being progressively destroyed. We, as a species, as a planet, are teetering on the edge, living unsustainably and perpetuating inequity, and may soon pass the point of no return. Only a blueprint for global action would ensure our survival. Thus was born the Rio Compact and Agenda 21 -- a new spirit of partnership, a social, ethical and political contract forged on inter-dependence, inter- generational equity and common but differentiated responsibilities.

There have been notable achievements since Rio, if somewhat scattered and uneven. Prime among them has been the unfolding of Agenda 21 into a living document beyond the realm of conferences. National strategies, local initiatives, public consciousness and environmental agreements have proliferated, accompanied by tentative reforms of institutions and aid programmes. On the global level, population growth has stabilized, infant mortality fallen, life expectancy increased and nutrition improved.

The elaboration of the Rio Declaration into legal principles and international law, as enshrined in the conventions, is also a notable achievement. But the end result remains paltry, due to the slowness in dealing with issues, the inconsistent fulfilment of agreements, and the weak ability to enforce compliance and to ensure equitable benefits for all. In this context, should one rush to conclude a convention on forests, if the protracted time needed for the negotiations would provide an excuse for further delays in securing the rights of forest dwellers and implementing best practices?

Five years on from Rio, we face a major recession; not economic, but a recession of spirit, a recession of the very political will that is essential for catalysing real change. The visionary ambition of Agenda 21 is tempered by some damning statistics which show that we are heading further away from, and not towards, sustainable development. We continue to consume resources, pollute, spread and entrench poverty as though we are the last generation on Earth. Failures in management of natural resources continue to create scarcities, to invite conflict, to pose dangers to public health and to incite social disintegration. Those at Rio who made serious commitments have not followed through on their promises. This is a shame, made tragic because impressive gains in science and technology have advanced our understanding, presented policy options and choices of action to those in power who could make a difference.

We must strip ourselves of old excuses for not tackling effectively enough the driving forces of environmental degradation and underdevelopment. This special session will certainly have failed in the eyes of the world if it produces nothing more than stirring rhetoric that seizes the headlines and exhortations "to continue to do more". We are all familiar with the tactics being played. Posturing, spinning declarations of intent, pointing the finger at others, pandering to interest groups, weighing short-term profits and immediate electoral gains, and emphasizing the need for clearer definitions, dialogue or information-gathering. These prevent plans of action from truly being operationalized into programmes of implementation.

I challenge governments North and South to tackle the real obstacles to implementing Agenda 21. We must avoid the temptation to concentrate on just so-called emerging issues. The crucial issues are the cross-sectoral issues, those that link environment and development. Since Rio, we have seen a further continuation of North-South trench politics. Governments and non- governmental organizations from the developed world vigorously promote environmental protection, without shouldering the greater burden of adjustment on consumption and production patterns. Nor do they emphasize with equal balance the importance of fulfilling global responsibilities with national ones. Meanwhile, many developing countries continue to emphasize their right to development, without placing sufficient stress on social equity and transparent, participatory decision-making. Neither approach bodes well for the future.