Rio+20 Portal

For Rio 2012 to kickstart longterm change we need to move away from the tired models of international meetings. We need a new approach to our common problems; we need fresh thinking and new solutions; and we need new voices at the table. Read our practical roadmap for making Rio 2012 count.

Over the coming months we will be tracking the latest thinking on a green economy around the global community. We will be taking part in dialogues and events to develop our thinking as a coalition. We will be encouraging everyone to get involved, and make their voice heard in our collective mission.

1. Our shared concern – 20 years after Rio, yet poor progress towards wellbeing

The first Rio Summit in 1992 showed the world that economic security and human wellbeing are fundamentally dependent on environmental goods and services – every person on earth depends upon healthy ecosystems to sustain their lives and livelihoods.

But 20 years on, much economic activity has failed people and the planet. International terms of trade that encourage negative impacts on the environment and people (‘externalities’), perverse incentives, weak legal frameworks and poor labour standards have neutralised many potential development benefits of globalisation. Under the current global economic framework, increased competition – as well as the sheer scale of economic activity – have hurt the environment, workers, consumers and economic stability. On the one hand, poverty has become entrenched, while on the other new problems of unsustainable consumption have escalated. While almost a third of the world’s population struggles to survive on less than US$2 per day, the lifestyles of citizens in wealthy industrialised countries result in an ecological footprint 3 to 5 times greater than the earth’s capacity.

Consequently there is inadequate progress towards the wellbeing of all humanity.

Yet there is evidence of an increased sensitivity by governments and businesses since Rio on the need to protect environmental and social assets. Civil society organisations have become savvy proponents of sustainable development and have made compelling cases for new approaches, highlighting successful examples of decentralised planning, small-business innovation and social enterprise. The use of green technologies and processes is rapidly growing. While the majority of companies remain silent, some are starting to disclose information on their ecological footprint and sustainability performance. The public, too, is concerned: a 2009 Globescan survey of 1000 people in each of 23 countries revealed that people were most concerned about the unsustainable state of the economy, and ranked poverty and environmental damage as the top two constituent problems. Both the threat of climate change and the search for answers to the current economic crisis have created an important moment for increased refection, which the 2012 Rio Conference can capitalise on.

The Green Economy Coalition has come together in an effort to promote progress towards a resilient economy that provides a better quality of life for all within the ecological limits of one planet. There are strong practical reasons for this transition, but it also taps into fundamental human values of fairness, environmental stewardship and careful use of limited resources.