Stakeholder Forum Executive Director Felix Dodds addresses Event on Rio+20 Earth Summit held at the 17th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD17)
17th May 2009: At a side event hosted by the Brazilian government during CSD17, Felix Dodds presented his vision for a Rio+20 Earth Summit in 2012, building on many of the multi-stakeholder discussions and dialogues on a possible Summit that Stakeholder Forum has co-ordinated over the past year.
In his speech Felix Dodds outlined the importance of the Summit in addressing the global transition to a green economy, pointing out the varying degrees of success in this objective across different nation states. He also pointed out the importance of addressing ‘human and environmental security’, as if current projections of global production and consumption patterns are correct, we will by 2030 need another planet to sustain the global population.
He outlined the need for a positive global vision for sustainable development, and shared some suggestions that have emerged from workshops and informal meetings hosted by Stakeholder Forum, including a High Level Commission to address how to achieve a ‘Global Green New Deal’, as well as a concerted effort to promote progress on International Environemntal Governance, including the reform of UNEP.
He also addressed the importance of exploiting the full potential of new media to engage global stakeholders in any preparatory process for the Summit.