About: Rio Earth Summit
Poto?nik pledges EU commitment to development after Rio
The European Union has not forgotten the commitments made at the Rio+20 conference six months ago, said EU Environment Commissioner Janez Poto?nik. Next year, the European Commission will publish results of the follow-up work, he promised.
Industry aims to ‘close the loop’ on resource use
SPECIAL REPORT / Six months after the Rio+20 Earth Summit, a Belgian company, Deceuninck Nv., has begun living up to the plastic industry's voluntary commitments by turning discarded doors, windows and other goods made with PVC into new products.
Trust me, I’m a corporation: Can business drive green growth?
SPECIAL REPORT / Nearly six months after the Rio+20 global environment summit, the jury is still out on whether greener growth can truly happen. In the absence of major commitments by participating countries, EU officials were left placing their hopes on voluntary agreements by industry sectors, including plastics and PVC. But can those deliver?
UNIDO chief: EU an active partner in energy access
The United Nations is committed to sustainable development to promote wealth creation and structural change in developing economies. This includes expanding access to energy, says Kandeh K. Yumkella of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
With Rio setbacks in mind, MEPs press for EU pragmatism
Following its failure to deliver on ambitious plans for the Rio+20 conference, Europe must redouble its climate commitments and be a more pragmatic world leader, say three MEPs involved in shaping environmental legislation.
Finding the right mix to spur greener consumption
SPECIAL REPORT / World leaders attending the recent Rio+20 conference agreed to promote sustainable consumption and production, but analysts say getting businesses and buyers to do just that will require far more than words on paper.Was there an Earth Summit?
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) plays an important role in sketching out solutions, but at the moment other lobbyists and the big players in conventional energy have more influence, says Karlheinz Knickel.
Life after Rio: ‘No excuse to do less’
SPECIAL REPORT / Disappointed over the failure of the Rio summit to produce ambitious commitments on sustainable growth, conservationists say Europe must now redouble efforts to tackle its own environmental challenges.
Global carbon emissions rise is far bigger than previous estimates
Carbon dioxide emissions have risen by even more than previously thought, according to new data analysed by the Guardian newspaper, casting doubt on whether the world can avoid dangerous climate change.
Why firms should invest in sustainability
Unilever, the European consumer products company, recently announced the first annual results of its Sustainable Living Plan aimed at improving efficiency in the full cycle of its product line – from production through consumption. Jan Zijderveld talks about how the plan – launched in 2010 – has changed the firm’s outlook.
Firms want politicians to ‘take responsibility’ at Rio
SPECIAL REPORT / Conservationists who fear that the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro will fail to produce binding commitments to environmental sustainability may have some unsuspecting allies – big corporations.
OECD countries want new measures for growth in Rio
SPECIAL REPORT / One of the questions that world leaders will discuss while gathering at the UN summit in Rio this week is whether future national development should be measured in terms other than the economic.
Footing the world’s bill for a green transition
SPECIAL REPORT / World Bank President Lewis Preston called on rich donors to back a $5-billion (€4 billion) fund to help the world’s poorest nations protect their environment and make economic development more sustainable.
EEB chief: A mixed forecast for the Earth Summit
Jeremy Wates, who heads one of the leading conservation groups in Brussels, says the lack of appetite for binding sustainable development commitments and stronger world environmental governments would contribute to a disappointing Earth Summit.
EU faces big obstacles on the road to Rio+20
SPECIAL REPORT / Europe faces an uphill battle to convince world leaders to buy its plan for strengthening global environmental governance at an important sustainable development conference later this week.
Poland blocks EU’s zero-carbon plan
With European delegates preparing to push a low-carbon agenda at the Rio Earth Summit this week, coal-reliant Poland has prevented EU governments from speaking with a single voice in the bloc's debate on a low-carbon energy future.
Rio+20: Scientists call for action on population
The Rio+20 Earth summit must take decisive action on population and consumption regardless of political taboos or it will struggle to tackle the alarming decline of the global environment, the world's leading scientific academies have warned.
Global clean-energy ‘revolution’ falters ahead of Rio
SPECIAL REPORT / A UN push to provide electricity to more than 1 billion people who live off the grid is threatened by indecision at an important global development conference this week, despite robust support from EU leaders.Rio must get it right
The Rio+20 summit cannot afford weak results and must kick off the global transition to a sustainable growth model for the 21st century, writes Connie Hedegaard.
Ministers set out 2050 vision for a ‘green Europe’
The EU's 27 environment ministers have set out the key elements of the bloc's environment policy for decades to come, calling for "an ambitious and compelling 2050 vision for a green Europe" that decouples economic growth from environmental degradation.
Europe urged to ‘radically transform’ water policy
The European Union needs to "radically transform" the way it manages water, energy and land to ensure the needs of the poorest people are met and the environment is protected, according to the new European Report on Development.
Report calls for action at Rio to reverse biodiversity free fall
Biodiversity has decreased by an average of 28% globally since 1970 and the world would have to be 50% bigger to have enough land and forests to provide for current levels of consumption and carbon emissions, the conservation group WWF said today (15 May).
MEPs cancel Rio+20 trip to cut costs
MEPs have cancelled plans to send a delegation to the UN Rio+20 summit on sustainable development, due to take place in June in Brazil.