17 May 2011: The latest issue of “Rio+20: Making It Happen,” the newsletter from the Secretariat of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), features the upcoming thematic debate in the UN General Assembly on the green economy as a pathway to sustainable development, among other topics.

The newsletter also includes information about a side event on the role of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and the role of women in the economy, held during the 19th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD 19) and four intergovernmental meetings: CSD 19, which it notes ended without a closing document; a Summit taking place in the Republic of Congo on sustainable management of rainforests; the global launch of the UN Decade of Biodiversity, in Tokyo, Japan; and an informal workshop on “Keeping the Green Economy Blue” at UN Headquarters.

The newsletter highlights the recent report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on decoupling and the report issued by UNEP, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS) which finds that Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are better placed than others for the transition to a green economy. [Publication: Rio+20: Making It Happen, Volume 2, Issue 9]