FAQs about Rio Summit 1992

3. What was the importance of the Rio Summit 1992?

The Rio Summit was a fundamental meeting, since the documentary bases were laid there to face the multiple threats that loom over life on Earth. Each of these documents focuses on a primary area to regulate the main problems of the planet. Among these are:

The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. It consists of 27 principles. It is basically a reaffirmation of the 26 principles of the Stockholm Declaration.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Its objectives include the need to stabilize the concentrations of Greenhouse Gases in the atmosphere to prevent risks in the climate system. It entered into force in March 1994.

The creation of the COP, annual climate conferences. The creation of the COP, Conference of the Parties, was agreed as the supreme body of the UNFCCC. The COP is an association of countries and parties that meets once a year.

Declaration of principles relating to forests. It is a document lacking a binding legal force, “provides, fundamentally, that all countries, especially developed countries, should strive to green the Earth through reforestation and forest conservation; that States have the right to develop their forests according to their socio-economic needs, and that financial resources should be provided to developing countries specifically aimed at establishing forest conservation programs with a view to promoting an economic and social policy of substitution”

Convention to combat desertification. In Rio, it was advanced how to deal with the problem, which has been taking alarming features for some time. It entered into force on December 26, 1996. A new integrated approach to it was supported. The extensive document consists of 6 parts, 40 articles and dozens of sections and numerals.

Convention on Biological Diversity. It is a legally binding international treaty with three main objectives: “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources. Its overall objective is to promote measures that lead to a sustainable future.”

Agenda 21 to promote Sustainable Development. Contain more than 2,500 practical recommendations. Sustainable Development, due to the amount of crucial issues it covers, can be considered as the mother of all climate issues. Agenda 21 addresses the most urgent problems with an eye on the 21st century. Its main sections are the fight against poverty, the evolution of production and consumption models, demographic dynamics, conservation and management of natural resources, protection of the atmosphere, oceans and biological diversity, prevention of deforestation and the promotion of sustainable agriculture.