What is the Rio+20 earth summit?
The Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development is being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 20-22 June 2012.
Experts from around the world are coming together at this earth summit to agree a range of smart measures that can reduce poverty while promoting decent jobs, clean energy and a more sustainable and fair use of resources.
Why is the summit important?
The world is facing a mounting crisis. Nature is being subjected to unprecedented destruction and loss due to our relentless plundering of its resources.
Every day we depend on the diversity of plants and animals for our food, fuel, clothing, medicines and raw materials. We also rely on nature to provide services we take for granted such as purifying our air and water, pollinating our crops, and buffering the impact of floods and pollution.
In recent years we have experienced a combination of a global financial crisis, a food crisis, volatile oil prices, accelerating ecosystem degradation and an increasing number of climate-induced extreme weather events. These multiple and inter-related crises call into question the ability of a growing human population to live peacefully and sustainably on this planet, and demand the urgent attention of governments and citizens around the world.
Rio+20 will be the 4th summit of its kind and represents another milestone in ongoing international efforts to accelerate progress towards achieving sustainable development globally.
