February 2009: During the Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting for the 17th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, Stakeholder Forum convened a number of governments from North and South to informally discuss the possibility of an Earth Summit in 2012 and to focus on the kinds of issues such a Summit could address.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs sent a letter to the members fo the United Nations inviting responses on a proposed Earth Summit
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.
26th May 2009: The Brazilian government has submitted a paper on the possibility of a high level event on sustainable development in 2012, as a contribution to the report of the Secretary General of the United Nations, as invited by the Division for Sustainable Development.
28th May 2009: In a letter to Tariq Bunari, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development (DSD) within UN DESA, the Czech Republic on behalf of the European Union has announced that it is ‘open to discuss, with the wider UN membership, the UN Secretariat and all other relevant stakeholders, the possibility of convening a high level event on sustainable development.
May 2009: A number of countries have made submissions to the UN Secretary General on the possibility of an Earth Summit in 2012. The submissions vary in length and detail, but many offer views on the focus of the proposed Summit and the specific issues that need to be addressed.
June 28th –July 2nd 2009, Glion, Switzerland: The Global Environmental Governance Forum: Reflecting on the Past, Moving into the Future, hosted by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the College of William and Mary brought together a range of leading thinkers in the field of environmental and sustainable development governance.
July 2009: Meetings were held throughout July in Washington DC to bring together a range of stakeholders to discuss and share ideas on the possible focus of a Rio+20 Earth Summit in 2012. International NGO Justice and Sustainability held a meeting on 6th July, which was followed by a meeting on 7th July hosted by US-based Natural Resources Defence Council.