A fabulous event Friday night in San Francisco as environmental superstar Paul Hawken spoke about the state of the world 100 days out from Rio+20. Hawken was on hand to introduce UK Barrister and ecocide advocate Polly Higgins on the last leg of her fundraising trip through NorCal and Canada.
Without doubt, the most enervating aspect of Hawken's musings was his perception that we have already arrived at the place we have for so long been dreading: climate change is happening, has happened. We are now living in a modern day dark ages, most of us unaware or in denial because we have so successfully been distracted by a universe of diversions courtesy of the technological revolution.
Hawken's message was one of hope. There is a great relief, this shrugging off of the dread. This "letting go" of this oppressive weight of our fear of the future opens us up, lightens us to recognize and respond to the potential of transformation. To change the game plan, alter the rules, reframe the debate and thus begin the work for tomorrow today. Wow! I was inspired.
Through the dung and dust, through the density of the disaster, lights are shining. Higgins' work, he said, is one of those lights.
Now, Sven was there and I'm sure he has a great deal more to add to this posting and the transcript of both Hawken's and Higgins presentations will be available later this week. But I use this here to segue into news on actions on the 100th day before Rio+20.
“The stakes are rising." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
The Secretary-General has named sustainable development as a priority issue for the UN over the next five years and has launched a major initiative on energy to deliver, by 2030, universal access to electricity, a doubling in the rate of improvement of energy efficiency, and a doubling of the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
To commemorate the 100-day milestone and to highlight the Future We Want campaign, global stakeholders, Major Groups and UN system partners will be using social media on that day to share messages of support and highlight a few of the most important issues and objectives of Rio+20.
“The involvement of civil society is critical for the success of Rio+20,” said Sha Zukang, Secretary-General of Rio+20. “Through social media, we hope to reach an ever growing number of people about the importance of the Conference and the need to take action now to advance sustainable development.”
Helping countries and communities move towards a green economy while accelerating efforts to eradicate poverty will be key among Rio+20 discussions. Governments will also be considering ways to improve the effectiveness of international institutions that support sustainable development. Expectations are that governments, business and other stakeholders will register more than 1,000 voluntary, concrete and measurable commitments to support global sustainability.Rio+20:
Women's priorities for a sustainable and equitable world!
Twenty years after the first World Summit, women are still hindered by huge economic and social inequalities which give rise to the alarming fact that the majority of those living in poverty are women and children. While gender equity has gained traction at UNFCCC negotiations since Copenhagen, policymakers and governments are being pressured to insure that remaining gaps in equality are recognized and that changes are implemented as part of the official outcomes at Rio.
Key demands for Rio+20
The key priorities from the Women's Major Group include:
1. Human and women's rights as a cornerstone of all agreements in Rio+20
2. Poverty eradication as the basis for sustainable development
3. Gender equality as a basis for all agreements in Rio+20
* Halt land grabs and assure food sovereignty
* Halt irreversible damage - nuclear/uranium/extraction/chemicals
* Redistribution of wealth and access to energy and resources for women
* Women's sexual and reproductive rights and health
* Women's economic rights - e.g. land tenure
* Human and Women's rights assured in all new Sustainable Development Goals
* Gender criteria for new institutional structure for sustainable development
* Gender criteria for financial global instruments
Link
What you can do
1. Fill out the the
Global Women Rio+20 Survey
2. Sign the
Global Women Rio+20 Policy Paper
3. Take part in
Women's Major Group Activities and Preparation for Rio+20
4.
Join Online Community
5. Go Social: Join in the conversation! Follow updates from the Women's Major Group on F
acebook and
Twitter @Women_Rio20. Use the hashtags #FutureWeWant & #RioPlus20!
tcktcktck: win a trip to RIO_20
Win your way to the Rio +20 Earth Summit
Bloggers, writers, videographers – take note!
We’re pleased to announce an opportunity for you to join the TckTckTck team at the Rio +20 Earth Summit this June and be part of an event that could, if successful, chart a course to a sustainable future. TckTckTck is looking for a climate-smart blogger or videographer to be part of our on-the-ground team in Rio; to help us share stories and keep climate change and renewable energy on the agendas of world leaders. Want to be that person? Enter to win TckTckTck’s Rio Blogger Prize.
TckTckTck and Climate Nexus Launch Rio+20 Video Speech Contest
IF YOU HAD TWO MINUTES TO ADDRESS THE WORLD’S LEADERS. . . What Would you say?
7 March 2012: The TckTckTck campaign and Climate Nexus have launched a "Win A Date With History" online video speech contest, encouraging young people to submit short video speeches containing ideas for decisive action on sustainability. The winner will deliver their speech at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) in June 2012.
The aim of the contest is to ensure that at Rio+20, governments agree to bold actions to assure a sustainable future for everyone. To take part in the contest, which is open to everyone aged 13-30 years, participants can upload 2-3 minute speeches in which they describe their vision for the future. A short-list will be developed through an online voting system, with the video creators with the most votes being selected as finalists. A jury will then select and announce the winner on 15 May. [Date With History Website] [UNEP Press Release]