The World Wildlife Fund has called the RIO+20 Summit a “colossal failure of leadership and vision.” Many people would agree with this. 86 world leaders will have signed a 50 page document (available to see online) that provides no new commitments to fighting climate change. The last decade has seen a surge of community activity with recycling and energy efficient home-ware. This Summit was a chance for the World Leaders to recognise that effort and match it with their own.
There is no new Kyoto Protocol.
There is no solution.
There is no care.
The Summit cannot be seen as just a failure. It was also a betrayal to the people that are attempting to preserve what is left of this planet. The issues that were meant to be addressed; poisoning of the air, emptying of the seas, filth and wastage of our water, exhaustion of the soils, vanishing of the trees, degradation and forced misery of people. Not a single proposition or sign of intent as to how we will handle these issues. There may not be another Earth Summit because any one of these issues may have killed us in another 10 years. Rio, where it all looked so promising in 1992, may have been our last chance for preservation in 2012.
America snubbed the Kyoto Protocol back in 1992 and also refused to stop oil drilling after asked in 2002. In 2012, America did not even show up to the conference. They were joined by Germany and the UK in their pathetic absence. The last 20 years have been a complete waste. The only progress that has been made is by respective communities. Single people making simple actions that amount to a big change when other people join in. The world will not be saved by politics, by world bodies, by “leaders”. They have shown us that. I plead to you reading, it really is up to you now. Have a greener mind about your day to day business. Turn lights off, don’t use plastic bags or cups, buy fuel efficient cars, wear a jumper – don’t turn the heating up. (That American flag is surrounded by oil, do you see the irony?)
A little bit goes a long way, as long as we all do our part.
In contrast to the absence’s of world leader’s from the Summit, Multinational Corporations were very well represented. In this bid to attract more corporate stakeholders, many are questioning if the UN Summit has become less about the future of the earth and more about the future of corporate profits.
It’s the same story I, like many people, have been talking about for a while. There is no environmental/economic balance. The world is consumed and driven by money. Maybe we environmentalist’s were just being optimistic about 2012 providing help to the movement.
There is nothing else to say. It’s simply down to you and everyone else.
That Scene From Garden State. 