Rio+20 policy

Women carrying buckets of waterWomen in Wedza, Zimbabwe, carrying water from a water source 2.5km from their homes

The world meets in June 2012 for Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. It marks 20 years since the Rio 'Earth Summit', and will be the biggest global environment and development conference since Copenhagen in 2009.

But world governments need to be much more ambitious, if Rio+20 is going to be the spur to action that we desperately need. If the world’s leaders can rise to the challenge to provide essential political will, we can achieve a global consensus to push for a green and fair economy, commit to the creation of clear and time-bound Sustainable Development Goals, and catalyse action for a fairer, more sustainable world in which all can flourish.

Progressio would like to see a strong, ambitious agreement at Rio+20.

We are calling specifically for:

  • a greater emphasis on fairness and participation: not just a green economy, but a green and fair economy
  • stronger recognition of the need for sustainable and equitable access to water, particularly for women who play a crucial role as water managers for poor families and communities
  • more prominence for action on climate change
  • a call for the effective enforcement of legislation against illegal logging
  • a global policy framework on corporate sustainability reporting and responsibility, including full water accounting and footprinting.

Rio+20 policy briefings and further information

Read our Rio+20 FAQs

Read our Rio+20 briefing for MPs here (235k PDF)

Read our response to the Zero Draft in full: download The future we need (320k PDF)

Read our website article highlighting the key points in our response to the Zero Draft document

Read Water in a green and fair economy - a Progressio briefing for those who want to know a bit more: download Water in a green and fair economy (845k PDF)

Read our Poverty Bites blog on why the Rio+20 Summit could make crucial improvements for the lives of women and small-scale farmers

Waterproof Rio! campaign

Get involved in our Waterproof Rio! campaign here