The governments of the world, the United Nation agencies, multilateral financial institutions, concerned citizens and other major participants are meeting in Johannesburg to assess global changes since the historic UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) of 1992 in Rio. The objective of the Johannesburg summit is for the world to take a critical look back at UNCED and aim to arrive at an extensive, frank and useful review of the past ten years. The Summit will take place at a time when most participants recognize that the governments of the world are far from meeting the targets they set in Rio in 1992.
Non-sustainability prevails
Few if any of the promises from Rio have been met. The total emission of greenhouse gasses has increased significantly; the forests are even more threatened than they were in 1992; deserts are still spreading fast; water is increasingly in short supply; 3-4 species become extinct every day; dangerous chemicals are still spreading all over the globe and the greenhouse effect is intensified through the continued production and use of fossil fuels.
Non-sustainability prevails
Few if any of the promises from Rio have been met. The total emission of greenhouse gasses has increased significantly; the forests are even more threatened than they were in 1992; deserts are still spreading fast; water is increasingly in short supply; 3-4 species become extinct every day; dangerous chemicals are still spreading all over the globe and the greenhouse effect is intensified through the continued production and use of fossil fuels.