The outcome of the Rio+20, the sustainability conference held in Rio de Janeiro this week and which folds today, will be a document that lacks focus and does not tackle the urgency of the problems the world faces, according to Celso Lafer, president of FAPESP, an organization that supports research in São Paulo.
“The final document is diffuse and lacks focus. It is based on the lowest common denominator. At best, it sets in motion processes that will be more or less successful in the future,” said Lafer. Underlying the lack of focus was the need to arrive at a consensus, he added.
An Associated Press report echoes the sentiment voiced by FAPESP. It said activists complained the document “barely advances beyond what was agreed to at the original Earth Summit Rio hosted in 1992.”
CARE’s climate change specialist Kit Vaughan said the speeches were “full of empty words. The rhetoric cannot camouflage the fact that leaders are missing a shared vision and commitment to stop environmental degradation and eradicate poverty.”
As advocates of alternative energy, we suggest our readers sign the petition asking an end to fossil fuel subsidies, which we blogged about a few days ago. Switching to clean, renewable energy is key to a sustainable future.
Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.
