Civil society, business leaders and politicians at last
appear to be united on sustainable development - if only to
express their disappointment with the outcome of the Rio+20
Earth Summit.
Following contentious negotiations, many have dismissed
the final declaration for showing little progress on important
issues and an absence of significant commitments.
We are already consuming 50% more than the planet can replenish
and we have to cut up to 40% of gas emissions causing the
greenhouse effect so that the global average temperature does not
rise more than 2°C. Yet millions continue to live on less than
$1.50 a day.
Our goal for the Rio Earth Summit was to secure a future that
puts sustainable consumption, production and development at its
heart.
Ten paths to sustainable consumption
Together with consumer groups around the world we endorsed a set
of 10 practical policy
changes that governments could have implemented if they wanted
to see the rhetoric of Rio become a reality.
In consulation with our members we also put forward a specific
set of
recommendations that the global consumer movement wanted to see
in the final Rio agreement text.
CI's Bjarne Pedersen has also spoken about the importance of Earth Summit 2012.