PRESS RELEASE
Asians and Europeans design sustainable solutions at Rio+20
Asia-Europe Environment Forum to launch new volume ‘Global Architectures for Sustainable Development Delivery’ at two public panels at the ‘Rio+20’ Earth Summit.
SINGAPORE – Global failures to solve environmental, social and economic emergencies will dominate the Rio+20 Summit starting 20 June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This is where the world leaders met in 1992 to advance sustainable development. 20 years on, negotiators are under pressure to reform the UN to fulfill that promise.
The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and its partners have produced a new study ‘Global Architectures for Sustainable Development Delivery’. This is based on reforming the institutional framework inside and outside the UN to achieve better results for the future. The publication surveys solutions in Asia and Europe over the last two decades made by national governments and specialised commissions, non-government organisations and regional organisations.
‘No such mapping and comparative analysis has ever been made at this scale,’ says Sol Iglesias, ASEF’s Director for Intellectual Exchange. ‘The delegates in Rio will benefit from this snapshot of how Asian and European countries—particularly at the regional level—have coped with sustainable development challenges.’
‘Global Architectures for Sustainable Development Delivery’ also evaluates three key items on the summit agenda: creating a Sustainable Development Council in the UN; enhancing the UN Environment Programme and the rest of the UN’s environment pillar; and, articulating Sustainable Development Goals, largely anticipated as a concrete result from ‘Rio+20’ to monitor progress.
Findings of the study will be discussed at two panels on the eve of the UN conference:
– ‘Scenarios for Sustainable Development Governance: National Mechanisms that Work’ | 15th June (Friday) | 9h30-11h00 | Room T-6, Rio Centro
– ‘Towards and beyond Rio+20: Sustainable Development Delivery at the Regional level’| 18th June (Monday) | 17h30-19h00 | Room T-9, Rio Centro
The publication and panels are part of the Asia-Europe Environment Forum, which is a strategic partnership of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) of Japan, the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The side events are organised with the Earth Council, the Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific at the Asian Institute of Technology, the ASEM SMEs Eco-Innovation Center and the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe.
