Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 7.1
The representatives of Finland and Cape Verde during a recess in a prepa-
ratory meeting for Rio +20 in New York on 19 March 2012. (Photo ©
IISD/Earth Negotiations Bulletin)
The Stockholm Conference created the basis for international environmental
law. Environmental protection was at its hottest in Rio 1992 and much was
accomplished, at least at ideas level. The Johannesburg sustainable development
summit in 2002 then attempted to move forward from words to deeds.
Sustainable development goals were the focus of Rio +20. Generally, it
could be said that Rio +20 aimed at advancing sustainable development
through a pragmatic approach that involved all stakeholders, not just states.
The crucial question of the Conference was whether or not it could revive the
spirit of its predecessor, the Rio 1992 Environment and Development
Conference. This was not to be the case, and many scholars of international
environmental law were as disappointed with Rio +20 as they had been with
the Johannesburg Conference.
A new outlook and new challenges
The world is not yet ready for what many scholars of international environ-
mental law would recommend: a full-scale turn towards the long-term
prioritization of environmental protection rather than short-term economic
benefi ts. This will only be possible when a new generation of decision-makers
sees the world in a different way, for example in acknowledging the vital
services that are constantly produced by our environment.
A new outlook will ultimately become inevitable. The world population
has exceeded the 7 billion mark, and current estimates of the human popula-
tion in the year 2100 are around 15 billion. We have recently lurched from
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