U.N. lists 56 recommendations for a sustainable world

05/20/2012 - 14h08

Yesterday in Rio, the U.N. launched the Portuguese version of a report with 56 recommendations for the world to move towards sustainable development.

The document, developed by 22 experts over the past year and a half, puts forth the most ambitious suggestions that are up for discussion at Rio+20, a U.N. conference on this issue that will take place in Rio in June.

Among the proposals are suggestions to end subsidies for fossil fuels and to include a carbon tax on the emission of greenhouse gases.

The hope is to encourage the spread of green technology. "The report includes phrases and recommendations that are very direct," says ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, the head negotiator from Brazil for Rio+20.

He says that the final document that comes out of the U.N. summit should have "more sober" solutions.

Other measures that were suggested include the creation of a fund by 2015 that is supported by governments, NGOs and companies to ensure universal access to primary education and the incorporation of themes such as consumption and sustainable development in school curriculum.

The recommendations are divided into three groups according to their principle objectives. The first goal is to empower people to make sustainable choices; the second is to become a sustainable economy; and the third is to strengthen institutional governance for sustainable development.

"People participated on this panel of their own accord-they weren't representing any governments. This makes [the document] even stronger, because the panel can say certain things that do not represent consensus [between the more than 190 countries in the U.N.]," says Corrêa do Lago.

The director of the report said that he hopes the recommendations will be taken under consideration by the negotiators at Rio+20.

Janos Pasztor cited the establishment of quantifiable goals for sustainable development as a suggestion that could be adopted in the short-term. This issue will be discussed at Rio+20.

The former prime minister of Norway, Gro Brundtland, who is considered to be the "mother" of the idea of sustainable development, participated in the development of the report.

The complete document can be found in Portuguese at the link www.onu.org.br/docs/gsp-integra.pdf.

Translated by ANNA EDGERTON