4 February 2012: The Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2012 (DSDS 2012) has concluded, with global leaders and policy makers pledging to protect the global commons and adopt sustainable methods. Participants noted that the current level of natural resource degradation is beyond the Earth’s regenerative capacity, and made recommendations to address this.

DSDS 2012, which took place from 2-4 February 2012, in New Delhi, India, was organized by the The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and focused on the theme, “Protecting the commons: 20 years post Rio.” It included a variety of special events, such as the 9th World CEO Sustainability Summit, the Sustainable Development Leadership Award, the 4th Green Globe Foundation Award Ceremony, and the Asian launch of the Report of the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability (GSP).

The first day of the Summit featured panels during which world leaders identified the key needs for preserving the global commons, including: a carbon tax; social equity; pricing models for products; sustainable agriculture; strong political will; international cooperation to combat climate change; green growth; effective monitoring; and an interdisciplinary approach for a sustainable future. The panel members also underlined the role of NGOs and the media, stressing that in guiding the world towards sustainability, leaders need public support.

The Summit also included sessions on: biodiversity; a corporate dialogue on the global commons; water; sustainable development and consumption; sustainable management of global commons in South Asia; global commons and challenges in Africa; new frontiers in combating climate change; the information revolution and sustainable development; clean energy; and overcoming the global North-global South divide.

During the special session on biodiversity, panel members emphasized that biodiversity and global commons issues are closely interlinked. Regarding the current level of natural resource degradation, they highlighted the need for: a global regime for protecting biodiversity based on the Rio Declaration; a new business model for sustainable exploitation of resources; new innovations such as standardization in measurement procedures; sustainable forest management; and promotion of the concept of bio-economy. [Summit Bulletin, 3 February 2012] [Summit Bulletin, 4 February 2012] [Summit Bulletin, 5 February 2012] [Summit Website]