Rio+20 : a major meeting for the future of the planet

Faced with climate change and the inexorable exhaustion of the planet’s resources, the very future of living conditions on Earth is called into question. The United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development in Rio in 1992 marked a significant step in establishing the concept of sustainable development. Since then, awareness of the urgent need to take action has been affirmed, although this development has not translated into actions able to meet the ambitions set forth. In fact, ecosystems have continued to decline, and economic and social inequalities have worsened. On an international level, the legal and institutional landscape remains both highly fragmented and divided, whereas the challenges, now global, require cross sector approaches and responses.