Will we finally get ‘The Future We Want’?

The tag line of next week’s Rio+20 is optimistic in its goal, which comes 20 years after the 1992 Earth Summit, also in Rio, where countries adopted Agenda 21 – a promise to rethink economic growth, advance social equity, and ensure environmental protection.

Despite being keen to ensure the success of the 1992 summit, going as far as to implore the attendance of George Bush senior, Britain has been criticised in their commitment to Rio+20. Although the summit is the largest ever of its sort organised by the United Nations, David Cameron has declined to attend, instead delegating to Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, and environmental secretary, Caroline Spelman.

MP Joan Walley criticised the PM for “sending a powerful signal that the UK government does not see sustainability as a priority”. Walley goes on to describe how Cameron adds insult to injury as, “The dates were even changed so as not to clash with the Diamond Jubilee to enable Commonwealth countries to attend.”

Rio+20, or the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, aims to unite governments, NGOs, those from the private sector and many more to continue in its aims for sustainable development and poverty eradication. The Conference aspires to result in a focused political document on seven priority areas: decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster readiness.

For more information regarding this important issue, please visit the Rio+20 website. We'd also love to hear your thoughts on next week's summit. Either post a comment below or give us your opinion on the Frontier Official Facebook page.

Read more from Frontier about Rio+20 here.

By Maria Sowter

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[emilylowes]

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