Rio+20: Are We There Yet?

Monday, June 18, 2012

No, we are not yet there, but we may be getting closer. On Saturday, the Brazilians took over the once again informal negotiations on the outcome document. The world is fortunate in this regard, as Brazil has one of the best diplomatic corps in the business.

To move the process forward, Brazil tabled a new text for negotiation which – given the inability of the governments to come up with agreed text in the 3rd PrepCom – was certain to both please and upset various delegations. Perhaps the biggest concern by most is that it was less ambitious than it could have been, but again this understandable give the deadlock in formal negotiations. (ENB coverage)

Nevertheless, the Brazilians bravely rallied the troops by steering the initial discussion on four priority topics – Sustainable Development Goals, reform of the international institutional framework for sustainable development, Oceans, and the so-called Means of Implementation (MOI), i.e. financing. Though by Saturday evening, they had not made a great deal of progress, it appeared as if the Brazilians might be able to provide the leadership needed to bring the Conference to a resolution on a set of outcomes.

Source: Forbes (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Environment