Rio+20 sustainability conference gets mixed reviews

Public release date: 11-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society

Although a walkout by disgruntled activists may have grabbed headlines, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro last month did produce hundreds of individual commitments from participants with potential for having major impacts. That's the topic of the cover story of this week's Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

C&EN Senior Correspondent Cheryl Hogue explains that the Rio+20 conference brought together representatives from companies, governments, colleges and universities, the World Bank, nonprofit organizations and others on the 20th anniversary of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment & Development. Out of that landmark conference also held in Rio came treaties on climate change, biodiversity protection and stopping the spread of deserts, as well as a plan for more sustainable development. The follow-up conference, held last month, was intended to build on those agreements and lay the foundation for a greener world economy.

Hogue reports that reviews of Rio+20 were mixed, but some are hopeful about the promises that governments and corporations made. Environmental activists and others marched out of the meeting in protest, and Greenpeace International called the meeting a failure. But some observers expect the commitments to specific, measurable sustainability actions that corporations, colleges and universities and others made will have major impacts on the environment and world markets.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 11-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society

Although a walkout by disgruntled activists may have grabbed headlines, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro last month did produce hundreds of individual commitments from participants with potential for having major impacts. That's the topic of the cover story of this week's Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

C&EN Senior Correspondent Cheryl Hogue explains that the Rio+20 conference brought together representatives from companies, governments, colleges and universities, the World Bank, nonprofit organizations and others on the 20th anniversary of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment & Development. Out of that landmark conference also held in Rio came treaties on climate change, biodiversity protection and stopping the spread of deserts, as well as a plan for more sustainable development. The follow-up conference, held last month, was intended to build on those agreements and lay the foundation for a greener world economy.

Hogue reports that reviews of Rio+20 were mixed, but some are hopeful about the promises that governments and corporations made. Environmental activists and others marched out of the meeting in protest, and Greenpeace International called the meeting a failure. But some observers expect the commitments to specific, measurable sustainability actions that corporations, colleges and universities and others made will have major impacts on the environment and world markets.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/acs-rsc071112.php

ok state ok state kurt budke regis philbin regis and kelly reno fire regis philbin last show