From June 20^th to 22^nd, 2012 is organized in Rio de Janeiro – Brazil, the 4^th Earth Summit or Rio+20, also known as a UN Conference on Sustainable Development. The first UNCSD happened in 1992 and was also organized in Rio de Janeiro. Twenty Years after the first summit, the unstable economic-politico-social context calls for another a 4^th summit corresponding to another milestone in ongoing international efforts to accelerate progress towards achieving sustainable development globally.

Goals of the Summit:

• Secure renewed political commitment to sustainable development;
• Assess progress towards internationally agreed goals on sustainable development;
• Address new and emerging challenges.

Focus on two specific themes:

• Green economy in the context of poverty eradication and sustainable development;
• Institutional framework for sustainable development.

Who will participate? The participants are not only members of governments, but also thousands of of participants from the private sector (key factors to the economy), NGOs and others critical stakeholders.

What result should we expect? This summit should help and tackle governments to adopt and implement clear and focused practical measures for sustainable development. Some countries of course represent a real example for others.

For further information on the program and official documents, please refer to the official website: http://www.earthsummit2012.org/ or the following links:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/international_issues/rio20_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/potocnik/index_en.htm

http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.html