Ban Ki-moon the 67 year old South Korean former diplomat and current Secretary-General of the United Nations has expressed frustration at the minimal progress on a plan of action for the upcoming U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), also known as the Rio+20 summit. This conference follows-up on the 20 year earlier 1992 Earth Summit that was also held in Rio, and renowned for affirming the integration of environment concerns into the U.N.’s development agenda. The plan of action titled “The Future We Want” is anticipated by Ban to have been well progressed prior to the summit, however fears are held the summit is being hijacked by corporate lobbyists particularly in the USA and Canada. Ban states “I am disappointed with the negotiations. They are not moving fast enough. We have an ambitious plan for real progress. But we need agreement on the tough issues. We cannot wait until they get to Rio, success will mean light in homes where people live in darkness. It will also mean food for families that are now hungry, It will create progress across our planet.” Martin Nesirky a spokesperson for Ban, also stated “It is a major and a very important conference, the aims of which are obviously also profoundly important for the whole of humankind.”

Inspired by Thalif Deen ow.ly/bqagD image source Gobierno de Chile ow.ly/bqab3