UN Conference on Sustainable Development – UNCSD

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20) was charged with securing renewed political commitment for sustainable development. It took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012, two decades after the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED or Earth Summit), assessed progress and implementation gaps in meeting previously-agreed commitments, and identified new and emerging challenges.

Rio+20 adopted a political outcome document, The Future We Want, which launched a process to develop a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to build upon the Millennium Development Goals and converge with the post 2015 development agenda. The Conference also adopted guidelines on green economy policies, called for an intergovernmental process under the General Assembly to prepare options on a strategy for sustainable development financing, strengthened the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and established the High-level Political Forum for Sustainable Development.