Reporting on the 2012 U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development (or Rio+20 conference) has generally followed two lines: the conference was essentially a failure because of its tepid official response to the enormous and related problems of global environmental degradation and global poverty; and the conference successfully managed to mobilize hundreds of voluntary commitments and at least $513 billion for specific sustainability goals. A third story line has received little attention, however, and may redeem the account of official failure. This article addresses that story line, reviewing a series of processes set in motion by the parties to the conference that in the next few years could substantially affect how sustainability is addressed globally.
- sustainable development,
- sustainability,
- national governance,
- Acting as if Tomorrow Matters,
- Rio+20,
- Cloud of Commitments,
- Sustainable Energy for All,
- sustainability indicators,
- United Nations,
- U.N. General Assembly,
- U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP),
- Commission on Sustainable Development,
- sustainable development goals,
- sustainable production and consumption,
- U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development,
- Earth Summit
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/john_dernbach/109/