Objectives and vision for Rio+20

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, also known as the Earth Summit, was a landmark event. It adopted the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, otherwise known as the Rio Principles, and Agenda 21, a programme of action for sustainable development worldwide, and it led to legally binding instruments on climate change and biodiversity. A number of other important agreements and plans of action emerged from the Rio follow-up process, including those relating to combating drought and desertification, and advancing the sustainable development of small island developing States. The Summit left participants filled with great hopes for the future.