FAQS about the Stockholm Conference 1972

1. What is the Stockholm Conference or First Earth Summit?

The Stockholm Conference also called “United Nations Conference on the Human Environment” or “First Earth Summit”, was organized in Stockholm, capital of Sweden, between June 5 and 16, 1972, between the host country and the United Nations Organization. It was led by Olaf Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden, and Kurt Waldheim, Secretary General of the UN.

Representatives from 113 countries, 19 intergovernmental organizations, and more than 400 non-governmental organizations attended. It is recognized worldwide that the Stockholm Conference “is the beginning of modern political and public awareness of global environmental problems”.

It should be remembered that the history of discoveries and advances in climate knowledge go back to 1824, when the French physicist and mathematician Jean-Baptiste Fourier, based on his research, evoked the greenhouse effect for the first time. After Fourier, research continued slowly, but it was from the 1950s when research and public awareness of the climatic problems that affect our planet Earth took off.

Recommended reading: Pioneers of climate change, a timeline prepared by SGK-PLANET.

At the end of answer 10, you can see the 7 “Proclamations” and the 26 “Principles” of the “Stockholm Declaration”.