Today we host on our blog an article by NRDC, on the kind of inovations the Rio+20 simulations could try out!
by Michael Davidson,
Natural Resources Defense Council
From NRDC’s participation in
international summits since Stockholm 1972, we recognize the value of
gatherings such as Rio+20 in generating real progress on the ground toward
environmental goals. Success at Earth Summit 2012 is particularly important given
the growing skepticism worldwide about the ability of such international
negotiations and gatherings to do anything worthwhile on the huge environmental
and economic challenges we face. The summit process will involve thousands of
officials, business and civil society leaders throughout the world and a
collective investment of hundreds of millions of dollars. It is critical that this
time and energy is not wasted.
In order to realize its
potential, we propose the following structure for Earth Summit 2012. A one- to
two-day conference simulation based on this will benefit from previous
successes and be readily accessible to advanced undergraduate and graduate
students. For more information on our priority outcomes for Rio+20, visit www.race2rio.org .
Three Days of Recognition and
Support for Country Actions
The official high-level Rio+20
meeting from June 20-22 must be different than earlier summits. There is no need for another long Plan of
Action or the addition of another treaty to the hundreds that have already been
adopted. The three-day meeting should
instead put the spotlight on individual and collective actions of presidents
and prime ministers to move toward sustainable development goals. These
sessions should:
●
Encourage
all presidents and prime ministers to use their allotted time for speeches –
usually about 5 minutes - to present on the specific sustainable development
initiatives, challenges, and needs in their respective countries.
●
Create
the expectation for new or substantially scaled-up commitments from all
countries, which are specific and short-term;
and identify partners for technical assistance and coordinating actions. Here are some
examples.
● Produce
a politically-binding outcomes document of not more than ten pages that recognizes the imminent threat of exceeding our
planet’s natural boundaries, the need to move to a new green economy, and
recommits governments to act on their promises to move towards sustainable
development. Here’s what we think about
the current
zero draft: on clean
energy/climate; oceans;
from a youth
perspective.
●
Generate
an appendix of country commitments to the outcomes document that provides a foundation
for a registry of such commitments at a new global center for sustainability actions:
Four Days of Engagement and Cooperation with Major Stakeholders
The period of four days (June 16-19)
prior to the official summit provides an unprecedented opportunity to engage
sub-national governments, businesses and civil society on an equal footing.
These sessions should be coordinated closely and in parallel with the official
meeting; they should:
● Invite
CEOs of major corporations, local government officials, and civil society
leaders to give presentations on
sustainable development challenges and opportunities in their sectors.
●
Create
the expectation for commitments from all major businesses and local governments that are specific and meaningful, and complement or exceed
national goals.
●
Produce
a registry of major stakeholder commitments, which includes robust monitoring and reporting provisions,
and is in parallel with the national registry above.
To learn more about NRDC’s Race to
Rio campaign, please visit us and sign up for our periodic newsletter at www.race2rio.org
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