Fulfilling the Rio+20 Promises: Reviewing Progress since the UN Conference on Sustainable Development

The June 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, also known as Rio+20, brought together leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector for the most participatory and socially inclusive U.N. conference to date. Rio+20 built upon the commitments made 20 years ago when world leaders gathered to stimulate political will toward sustainable development at the first Earth Summit, held in Rio in 1992.

Rio+20 resulted in the outcome document "The Future We Want," which laid out a number of negotiated commitments intended to spur action toward sustainable development. In addition, the Rio Summit mobilized more than 700 voluntary commitments with an estimated valuation in excess of USD$500 billion. These commitments have now grown to more than 1,400 with a value greater than USD$600 billion -- or nearly 1 percent of global annual GDP.

Stakeholder Forum and the Natural Resources Defense Council have partnered to conduct an initial review of the progress made on key negotiated and voluntary commitments made at Rio+20.

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