The Development Co-operation Report is the key annual reference document for statistics and analysis on trends in international aid. This year, the Development Co-operation Report 2012 seeks to provide insights into how to address today’s sustainable development challenges, with a focus on inclusiveness and good governance to ensure that our finite resources are equitably distributed, now and in the future.
Sharing finite resources among a growing number people – and consumers – is a critical challenge. It is in this spirit that J. Brian Atwood, Chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), invited several intellectual leaders on the challenges of inclusive, sustainable development to contribute to this year’s report.
- 13 Nov 2012
Brazil's journey from the Earth Summit to Rio +20
- Izabella Teixeira
The 1992 Rio Earth Summit brought about a cultural shift as citizens and governments alike became increasingly aware of the need to protect the environment as economies progress. The summit led to the formulation of legal and institutional frameworks to protect the environment, and we have seen improvements in many environmental indicators, such as the banning of lead in gasoline and a significant increase in natural protected areas. Nonetheless, we are still failing to mainstream environmental issues across sectoral policies and programmes and environmental quality is worsening in many areas. The lack of a coherent approach has had clearly negative impacts, one of the most obvious examples being the persistence of subsidies for fossil-fuel-based energy in many countries. The author of this introductory chapter draws on lessons from her own country, Brazil, which has made significant strides towards sustainable development. She calls for a green economy focus that: links the environment and the economy; considers medium and long-term needs and challenges; and recognises the diversity of countries, their differing levels of development and the inequalities of wealth distribution among nations. Such an approach, however, is not a natural market tendency – specific public policies will be needed if we are to green our economies.