Rio+20's Outcome Document Makes Environmental Organizations Angry

While those presently participating in the Rio+20 Earth Summit argue that this international conference proved to be a success, members of Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, WWF and other such organizations claim the outcome document is worth pretty much nothing.

Apparently, the said non-governmental organizations believe that the final draft of the summit's outcome document does not place sufficient emphasis on issues such as finding solutions for poverty or taking better care of our remaining biodiversity.

What seems to bother them the most in the fact that the world leaders at the Rio+20 conference forgot to dot their “i”s and cross their “t”s.

In other words, they failed in coming up with concrete plans for sustainable development. Thus, neither firm goals, nor fixed deadlines were established.

Those who had a chance to read the document report that, out of a total of 283 paragraphs, only three discuss climate change. Forest areas seem to receive a rather preferential treatment, with four paragraphs written about them.

However, for the most part, this year's Rio+20 outcome document is more a reiteration of environmental agreements reached in the past.

According to Mongabay.com, Jim Leape from the WWF told the press that, as far as he and his organization are concerned, “The revised text is a colossal failure of leadership and vision from diplomats."

He also adds that: "They should be embarrassed at their inability to find common ground on such a crucial issue.”

The same source reports that Stephen Hale, Oxfam's spokesperson, expressed the following opinion on this year's Earth Summit, “Everybody should look in the mirror and ask what history is going to make of this. We face connected crises. Rio+20 should be a turning point, but it is a dead end.”

As paradoxical as it might seem, the said outcome document is entitled “The Future We Want,” regardless of the fact that, instead of coming up with clear-cut solutions, it merely pin-points problems we are all too familiar with.