Im Juni 2012 trafen sich Regierungsvertreter, Organisationen und Unternehmen zur Konferenz der Vereinten Nationen über nachhaltige Entwicklung in Rio de Janeiro, Brasilien, um erneut über die Zukunft unseres Planeten zu beraten. Im Mittelpunkt der kurz „Rio+20“ genannten Konferenz standen Diskussionen um die „Green Economy“ im Kontext nachhaltiger Entwicklung und Armutsbekämpfung sowie die institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen nachhaltiger Entwicklung. Die verfasste Abschlusserklärung enthielt dann jedoch nicht die erhofften Wegweisungen, so dass diese Konferenz wohl eher eine von symbolischem Charakter bleibt.
Der vorliegende Artikel gibt zunächst einen kurzen Überblick über die bisher, seit 1972 durchgeführten Gipfeltreffen. Er beleuchtet dann den Begriff der „Green Economy“ eingehender, der auf der Rio+20 Konferenz erstmals aufgegriffen wurde. Obwohl der Begriff nicht näher definiert wurde und viel Raum für rechtliche Diskussionen schafft, erscheint der Ansatz selbst jedoch realistisch. Dennoch, trotz aller Bemühungen der Nationen auf dem Wege zu einer gemeinsamen nachhaltigen Entwicklung lassen die unterschiedlichen Interessen eine noch lang anhaltende Debatte voraussagen.
The 'United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development' held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 13 to 22 June 2012, was the opportunity specifically geared towards the needs of humanity and its responsibility for what has been caused in the planet by human activities. It brought together 188 countries, including more than 100 heads of state or government, to discuss 'How do we manage to live sustainably in the future without leading our planet to self-destruction, and how the world can grow economically, lifting people out of poverty and preserve the environment'.
About 45.400 participants attended the summit, raising expectations that were subverted because of the multiplicity of interests pursued by the different countries. Such interests often conflict and often these were and continue to be, motivated by policies protecting the self-interest of certain countries thereby undermining their credibility in international negotiations.
A variety of procedures, ambitious and credible targets, which inevitably produce contradictions, were taken into account. These may prove fruitful in terms of providing a deeper understanding of our world's difficulties, such as: desertification, salinization, loss of biodiversity, rising water shortages, and many others problems caused from the effects of human activities in the environment. However, in spite of all difficulties, the mission was never deemed to be impossible. As Rio+20 was not set up as a conference on ecology or environment, the topics of climate change, CO2 emissions and biodiversity were not the specific subject-matter, but the background of it. It is to say, how these topics can affect the environmental pillar in the context of sustainable development.
Thus, this article will offer a short overview of the background to the UN Summits over the last forty-year period, plus some associated information concerning the recent Summit held in Rio de Janeiro.
Insofar as the Rio+20 addressed the 'reen economy', which was completely new concerning the new development model rather than merely 'economy', this article includes certain points that are still open for further legal debates. The intention here is to cover some significant developments of the UN World Summits up to Rio+20, and endeavours to point out some issues for discussions rather than to present a solution. In such a large and expanding topic it is impossible to be quite comprehensive, because there is much more that could be said on everything. Hence, this article remains primarily a report of the conference, approached from the generalist perspective.