The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92, Cúpula da Terra), was a major

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

conference held in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

from 3 to 14 June 1992. The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) or the Stockholm Conference, was the first global conference to address environmental issues. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden from June 5–16, 1972. Earth Summit was created as a means for member states to cooperate together internationally on development issues after the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. Due to issues relating to

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

being too big for individual member states to handle, Earth Summit was held as a platform for other member states to collaborate. A key achievement of the 1992 conference was the establishment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established in part as an international environmental treaty to combat "dangerous human interference with the climate system" and to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. It was signed by 154 states at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). By 2022, the UNFCCC had 198 parties. Its supreme decision-making body, the Conference of the Parties (COP) meets annually to assess progress in dealing with climate change. Since the creation of the UNFCC many related environmental conferences, climate-related forums, and ongoing scientific research initiatives in the fields of sustainability, climate, and environmental security have continued to develop these intersecting issues.

Non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

(NGOs) and educational institutions have been prominent participants. The Earth Summit played an influential role in diffusing several key principles of environmental treaties, such as the precautionary principle, common but differentiated responsibilities, and the polluter pays principle.

Issues addressed

The issues addressed include: * systematic scrutiny of patterns of production—particularly the production of toxic components, such as

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

, or poisonous waste including radioactive chemicals * alternative sources of energy to replace the use of fossil fuels which delegates linked to global

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

* new reliance on public transportation systems in order to reduce vehicle emissions, congestion in cities and the health problems caused by polluted air and smoke * the growing usage and limited supply of

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

* importance of protecting the world's oceans.

Development

An important achievement of the summit was an agreement on the Climate Change Convention which in turn led to the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. Another agreement was to "not to carry out any activities on the lands of

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

that would cause

environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

or that would be culturally inappropriate". The Convention on Biological Diversity was opened for signature at the Earth Summit and made a start towards a redefinition of measures that did not inherently encourage the destruction of natural

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

s and so-called uneconomic growth. World Oceans Day was initially proposed at this conference and has been recognized since then. Although President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

signed the Earth Summit's Convention on Climate, his EPA Administrator William K. Reilly acknowledges that U.S. goals at the conference were difficult to negotiate and the agency's international results were mixed, including the U.S. failure to sign the proposed Convention on Biological Diversity. Twelve cities were also honored with the Local Government Honours Award for innovative local environmental programs. These included Sudbury in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

for its ambitious program to rehabilitate environmental damage from the local

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

industry, Austin in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for its green building strategy, and Kitakyūshū in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

for incorporating an international education and training component into its municipal pollution control program. The Earth Summit resulted in the following documents: * Rio Declaration on Environment and Development * Agenda 21 * Forest Principles Moreover, important legally binding agreements ( Rio Convention) were opened for signature: * Convention on Biological Diversity *

Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the UN process for negotiating an agreement to limit dangerous climate change. It is an international treaty among countries to combat "dangerous Global warming, human interf ...

(UNFCCC) At Rio it was agreed that an International Negotiating Committee for a third convention the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification would be set up. This convention was negotiated within two years of Rio and then open for signature. It became effective in 1996 after receiving 50 ratifications. In order to ensure compliance to the agreements at Rio (particularly the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and Agenda 21), delegates to the Earth Summit established the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). In 2013, the CSD was replaced by the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development that meets every year as part of the ECOSOC meetings, and every fourth year as part of the General Assembly meetings. Critics point out that many of the agreements made in Rio have not been realized regarding such fundamental issues as fighting

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

and cleaning up the environment. Malaysia was successful at blocking the US-proposed convention on forests and its prime-minister Mahathir Mohamad accused later the global North of exercising eco-imperialism at this summit. According to Vandana Shiva, Earth Summit create a ''"moral base for green imperialism"''. Green Cross International was founded to build upon the work of the Summit. The first edition of Water Quality Assessments, published by WHO/ Chapman & Hall, was launched at the Rio Global Forum.

Youth

At this stage, youth were not officially recognised within climate governance. Although youth were not given specific recognition, there was a significant youth turnout at UNCED. Youth were involved in negotiating Chapter 25 of Agenda 21 on Children & Youth in Sustainable Development.

"25.2 It is imperative that youth from all parts of the world participate actively in all relevant levels of decision-making processes because it affects their lives today and has implications for their futures. In addition to their intellectual contribution and their ability to mobilize support, they bring unique perspectives that need to be taken into account."

Two years prior to UNCED youth organized internationally to prepare for the Earth Summit. Youth concerns were consolidated at a World Youth Environmental Meeting, Juventud (Youth) 92, held in Costa Rica, before the Earth Summit.

"The involvement of today's youth in environment and development decision-making...is critical to the long term success of Agenda 21" (UNCED 1992).

Parallel to UNCED, youth organized the Youth '92 conference with participation from around the world. Organising took place before, but also afterwards. Many youth participants were dissatisfied with the rate of change.

References

External links

Documents from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (also known as UNCED or the Earth Summit)
held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1992
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3–14 June 1992

Video: Severn Suzuki, 12 years old, speaks for Environmental Children Organization UNCED 1992

Address at Rio Earth Summit
Tenzin Gyatso Dalai Lama
Agenda 21 at the Center for a World in Balance
* A critica
New Internationalist
keynote about th
1992 Rio Earth Summit

Rio Summit
articles at the India Environment Portal * Cicero Lucena and John Gummer
Why Rio failed in the past and how it can succeed this time
The Guardian, June 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Earth Summit 1992 in Brazil 1992 conferences 1992 in the environment 1992 in the United Nations 20th-century diplomatic conferences 20th century in Rio de Janeiro Diplomatic conferences in Brazil Environmental conferences June 1992 in South America Politics of Rio de Janeiro (state) United Nations conferences on the environment United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Issues addressed

Development

Youth

See also

References

External links