In a press release, the UN has marked the 100-day countdown to Rio+20, highlighting the opportunities for the Conference to advance progress on the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
12 March 2012: The UN Secretariat has issued a press release highlighting the 100-day countdown to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) and urging governments, businesses and civil society to be more ambitious about sustainable development.
In the press release, the Secretariat highlights that Rio+20 is an historic opportunity for stakeholders to renew their political commitment to finding and implementing solutions to the most pressing global challenges, such as poverty, access to energy, climate change, widening inequalities, water stress and food security. It notes that a set of sustainable development goals, which aim to address the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development in an integrated manner, are currently being considered in the Rio+20 negotiations. Noting the role of civil society in moving towards sustainable development, the press release states that social media will be a key tool at Rio+20 for communicating messages to the broader public.
Rio+20 is anticipated to be one of the largest UN gatherings in the organization’s history, with more than 50,000 people expected to participate in the Conference. [UN Press Release] [UNDESA: One Hundred Days to Rio+20]