STWR - Share The World's Resources

Linking development and environmental objectives through policy initiatives is not an easy task. This Background Note sets out to explain why reconciling the two agendas has been so difficult at a practical level, and suggests how Rio+20 could start to bridge the gaps between the two. By Claire Melamed, Andrew Scott and Tom Mitchell.

Achieving sustainable development entails a global transition—away from prevailing inequitable and ecologically destabilizing patterns of development, to modes of development based on shared prosperity and environmental protection. Global governance plays a crucial role in this shift, says a report by IBON International.

Consumption levels between developed and developing nations must be rebalanced alongside a stabilisation of the world’s population by voluntary methods, according to a new report from the Royal Society.

We must reject any proposal that supports the further commodification and financialization of nature, and call on the United Nations to initiate the drafting of a new framework that begins with a recognition that life is the foundation and proper measure of value, writes David Korten.

The planet cannot maintain increases in resource demand without serious consequences for both people and ecosystems. We must act quickly to redefine our understanding of the “good life” and redouble our efforts to make that life sustainable, says the Worldwatch Institute.

Leading scientists have called on the upcoming Rio Summit to grapple with environmental ills that they said pointed to "a humanitarian emergency on a global scale". A report from the four-day conference of the international scientific community, Planet Under Pressure.

Global greenhouse gas emissions could rise 50 percent by 2050 without more ambitious climate policies, as fossil fuels continue to dominate the energy mix, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).