Expectations are Low for Rio 20

World leaders are preparing to meet in Rio de Janeiro for the long-awaited Rio 20 Conference on Sustainable Development, but the conference is not expected to produce any major, binding international agreements.   The Conference, June 20-22, will likely focus on the “green economy” and the creation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will complement, or substitute for, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), most of which are currently scheduled to expire in 2015.  While the SDGs will almost certainly include a number of human development goals, similar to the MDGs, it’s less clear what kind of goals will be established to ensure environmental and economic sustainability at the national and global levels.  The Sustainable World Initiative (SWI), a project of the Population Institute, has called for the adoption of “resource sufficiency evaluations,” a critical step towards achieving sustainability.  Ed Barry, SWI’s Director, will be attending the conference.

Getting from Here to a Sustainable World: Why “Resource Sufficiency Evaluation” is Crucial