Amid scores of conferences over the last 20 years, CO2 in the atmosphere has risen 41ppm to dangerously high levels. ~ Al Jazeera
Below: two giant fish made of plastic bottles exhibited at the Botafogo beach, Rio de Janeiro
venue of the UN Conference for Sustainable Development, which runs until 22 June
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| Photo: Antonio Lacerda/EPA |
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff welcomed world leaders to a rainy Rio de Janeiro yesterday under a cloud of criticism that the 3-day summit is falling far short of its promise to establish clear goals for sustainable development. (Reuters)
The economic crisis is casting a clear shadow over Rio+20 - and was the reason many heads of state did not show up, like Italy's Mario Monti. With Europe in crisis and the US still in the economic doldrums, there was no way those nations would agree on new financing for poorer nations to promote sustainable development. France's Hollande, Russia's Putin and China's Wen Jiabao are among more than 100 leaders expected in Rio. US President Barack Obama, Britain's David Cameron and German leader Angela Merkel are all no-shows, adding to a subdued atmosphere and a feeling that the action taken in Rio is not getting the global spotlight.
"Let me be frank: Our efforts have not lived up to the measure of the challenge....Nature does not wait....Nature does not negotiate with human beings."
~ Ban Ki-moon, U.N. Secretary-General.
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