Ring Statement: Realising Sustainable Development

Abstract

"Half a generation has passed since the Rio Summit laid out its ambitious plan for a more equitable and sustainable global future. In that heady and hopeful time, governments first began to see how sustainable development might work in practice, agreeing goals based on the recommendations of Gro Harlem Brundtland’s World Commission on Environment and Development. Yet two decades on, there is little evidence that the scale of action at any level is a match for the magnitude of the problems facing us all. We need to deal with the root causes – but make a major shift in the way we do it, by building sustainability from the bottom up."