Twenty years after the 1992 “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro, the promise of sustainable development will be revisited again in June 2012 in Rio. In 1987, the Brundtland Commission first coined the term “sustainable development” and called upon the world to recognize that development should meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The 1992 Earth Summit established the three pillars – economic, social, and environmental – as the interdependent foundation to develop sustainably. But we face soaring social inequity only five years from the stated brink of irreversible climate change, and in the midst of a global economic downturn. In this time of significant global economic upheaval, it’s more important than ever to prioritize sustainable development investments that provide multiple benefits for families, communities, nations and the wo rld. As momentum builds to address climate change and other major challenges, Rio+20 presents an opportunity to return anew to the critical question of how environmental, population and economic concerns can be joined afresh in a new vision for sustainable development.

Mary Robinson
President, Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice; Former President of Ireland

Rachel Kyte
Vice President of Sustainable Development, The World Bank

Robert Engelman
President, Worldwatch Institute

Carmen Barroso
Regional Director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region