(MintPress) – When world leaders gather in Rio De Janeiro this week for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), they’ll be faced with skepticism by a world used to progressive dialogue, but little effective change and action.
The Rio+20 Summit is more than a gathering of those concerned about the world’s environment — it’s a conference that seeks to understand how environmental action — or inaction — could impact poverty, availability of food and the overall well-being of millions of people, largely those who inhabit in poor, underdeveloped nations.
“ … World leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, will come together to shape how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection on an ever more crowded planet to get the future we want,” the United Nations states on its Rio+20 website.
But whether or not the conference will achieve those lofty goals is up for question, as internationally binding agreements are not likely to be made, leaving those in undeveloped countries with a sense of skepticism for the entire process.
It’s an issue not lost on the people of South America, who plan to protest the Summit with a message that without a global plan to place sustainability at the top of the list, cultures and natural habitats will fall victim to oil exploration, which might benefit the global economy, but furthers poverty within the places where such resources are extracted.
Has the world lived up to past pledges and promises?
The U.N. issued a report in the lead-up to this year’s Summit, citing a Global Environment Outlook (GEO 5) assessment intent on reviewing progress made on 90 of the “most important environmental goals and objectives” from 1992, discovering that significant progress had only been made in four of those categories: production of products that deplete the ozone layer, removal of lead in fuel, increased access to proper water supplies and research related to impacts of pollution on marine wildlife and their environments.
Forty other goals showed some progress, which included deforestation reduction efforts.
“ … Little or no progress was detected for 24 of them, including climate change, desertification and drought. In addition, there were eight goals which showed no progress and instead further deterioration, such as the state of the world’s coral reefs,” a U.N. press release said.
When the conference first launched in 1992, it had a goal of formal declaration: “Human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.”
All agreements made at the first conference were designed more to mobilize nations to work together toward sustainable outcome, rather than bind them through international treaties. Therefore, a country in violation of agreements is not subject to punishment in any form.
But, as statistics show, that hasn’t done much good. While resolutions were adopted for action against greenhouse gas emissions, for example, such emissions have risen.
For the 600 ‘environment experts’ who make up the GEO 5, the lack of improvement shows an alarming trend of talking the talk, but failing to walk the walk.
“The moment has come to put away the paralysis of indecision, acknowledge the facts and face up to the common humanity that unites all peoples,” UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said in a press release. “Rio+20 is a moment to turn sustainable development from aspiration and patchy implementation into a genuine path to progress and prosperity.”
That’s a sentiment that’s shared by many who see the global meeting as a means to publicly address devastating and pressing concerns without sincerely committing to change.
Considering agreements at Rio+20 are not binding, HSBC Climate Change Analyst Nick Robins said in an online statement that governments will need to invest in sustainable projects in order for success — and there are no plans in order for this to occur.
“What began as a mixed bag of proposals has, however, ballooned into a baggy and fractious document that mostly ‘reaffirms’ past commitments and ‘acknowledges’ problems, but marks precious little forward movement,” Nick Robins, senior climate change analyst at HSBC, said in an online statement.
The Global Sustainability Panel recommends that governments incorporate sustainability accommodations into price models, a move that would take into account the impact developments have on areas of land and its inhabitants. It’s an argument that points to a growing trend among industrialized countries to subsidize fossil fuels.
According to an EU Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard, fossil fuel subsidies in 2011 were given at a rate six times more than those given to renewable energy.
“With the current economic and climate crisis, how smart is it that governments worldwide spend $400 billion a year of taxpayers’ money subsidizing dirty fuels that exacerbate climate change and air pollution? We would do better to spend this money on improving energy efficiency and promoting clean and affordable energy for all,” Hedegaard wrote in a Guardian column.
Keeping up with the world leaders
If sheer attendance at the meeting indicates what the future will hold, it seems the U.S. will be less than likely to take a lead in such actions, as President Barack Obama will not attend the Brazilian meeting, sending Secretary Hillary Clinton in his place.
When the first meeting was held in 1992, then president George H. W. Bush made an appearance and signed the Climate Change convention — a convention that has since been replaced by the Kyoto Protocol, to which the U.S. is not a party. UK Prime Minister David Cameron will also skip out, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The argument on the side of these Western powers is that domestic economic issues are of the greatest importance at the moment. But that’s an argument that doesn’t bode well among those who say that, in order to create a sustainable economy, it must be based on sound principles that look at all issues — economics, poverty, working conditions and environment.
Seven key issues have been highlighted for discussion at the Rio+20 Summit, including jobs, energy, cities, food, water, oceans and disasters. Each topic plays into the larger issue of sustainability, showing a connectivity among all concerns.
And while the negotiations will not legally bind nations to act in accordance with pledges, many operating within the Rio+20 Summit are optimistic change can still occur by working cooperatively.
“Now is the time to look at the big picture and to focus on key deliverables,” Rio+20 Secretary General Sha Zukang wrote in a blog post. “A big responsibility is on our shoulders. The whole world is watching. We simply cannot afford to falter.”