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Energy and Environment

Democracy in Development: Rio+20’s Unheralded Achievements

<p>A woman takes a picture of an image of Guanabara Bay made of recycled trash, part of an installation by Brazilian plastic artist Vik Muniz, during the Rio+20 Conference on June 22, 2012 (Nacho Doce/Courtesy Reuters).</p>
A woman takes a picture of an image of Guanabara Bay made of recycled trash, part of an installation by Brazilian plastic artist Vik Muniz, during the Rio+20 Conference on June 22, 2012 (Nacho Doce/Courtesy Reuters).

By experts and staff

Published
  • Isobel Coleman
    Senior Fellow and Director of the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative; Director of the Women and Foreign Policy Program

Yesterday on my blog, Democracy in Development, I discussed how Rio+20, despite its shortcomings, put a spotlight on several important issues. As I conclude:

I’m no fan of 50,000-strong global gatherings, but at least Rio provided a platform for action among diverse players who—in the absence of global consensus—can drive development goals forward in incremental ways.

You can read the full blog post here.