Brazil and the Sustainable Development
The discussions on sustainable development held in multilateral forums bear great relevance to the formulation of national policies and count on the engagement of civil society. Brazil plays an increasingly important role not only because of recent domestic advances in environmental, social and economic areas, but also because of its consistent performance in international forum.
Brazil hosted the two most important international conferences on sustainability in history: the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992 Earth Summit) and the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).
The 1992 Earth Summit consolidated the concept of sustainable development as the simultaneous and balanced promotion of environmental protection, social inclusion and economic growth. At the conference, Brazil took an ambitious stance in the discussions and played a decisive role in approving key documents, such as the Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the Statement of Forest Principles and the Conventions on Biological Diversity, Climate Change and Desertification.
The Rio+20 Conference defined the sustainable development agenda for the coming decades. Its objective was to renew political commitment to sustainable development by assessing the progress and gaps in the implementation of decisions on the subject adopted at the main summits and by addressing new and emerging issues. The main theme of discussion at the Rio+20 was the sustainable development institutional framework. The Conference also consolidated, in an integrated and indissoluble way, the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.
The United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development, held in September 2015, represented the most important international political moment for sustainable development since the Rio+20 Conference. The Summit, held on the margins of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, adopted the document "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", which concluded negotiations started in Rio de Janeiro aimed at formulating the sustainable development global strategy in the next fifteen years in areas of central importance for humankind and the planet. Brazil participated actively in the process of negotiation that led to the adoption of the new agenda, acting decisively in defense of the legacy of Rio+20, whose priority is to eradicate poverty and hunger.