World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002)

World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002)
Name	World Summit on Sustainable Development
Date	26 August – 4 September 2002
Venue	International Convention Centre Johannesburg
Location	Johannesburg, South Africa
Participants	Heads of state, ministers, NGOs, business leaders, scientists
Organized by	United Nations, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme

World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) convened in Johannesburg from 26 August to 4 September 2002 as a follow-up to the Earth Summit of 1992 held at Rio de Janeiro. The summit gathered representatives from United States, China, India, European Union, South Africa, Brazil, Japan, United Kingdom, France and many other states alongside delegations from United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organization and major non-state actors. It aimed to assess progress since Rio Earth Summit and to advance practical partnerships among United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, Global Environment Facility and civil society networks including Greenpeace, World Wide Fund for Nature, Oxfam International, Amnesty International, and business coalitions.

Background and preparations

Preparations arose from agreements at the United Nations General Assembly and were shaped by negotiations among G77, Organization of African Unity, European Commission, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Commonwealth of Nations and major economies such as United States Department of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (China), Government of India, Government of Brazil and the Government of South Africa. The secretariat coordinated inputs from specialized agencies including United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and technical bodies like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Preparatory committee sessions involved representatives of Non-governmental organizations, Business for Social Responsibility, International Chamber of Commerce, International Labour Organization, and academia such as delegates from Harvard University, University of Cape Town, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and London School of Economics.

Summit agenda and objectives

The summit agenda reflected priorities from Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and focused on themes including water resources management, energy policy, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development in Africa, poverty eradication and global trade impacts. Objectives included assessing implementation of commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention to Combat Desertification, improving coordination among United Nations agencies like United Nations Development Programme and World Bank Group, mobilizing financing via Global Environment Facility and private financiers such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund and multilateral development banks, and launching voluntary partnerships among corporations like Shell, BP, General Electric, civil society groups such as Friends of the Earth and research institutions including International Institute for Environment and Development.

Key outcomes and agreements

The summit produced the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development and the Plan of Implementation reaffirming commitments to Millennium Development Goals and to accelerate action on clean water access, sanitation, access to energy, and biodiversity targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Notable outputs included voluntary Type II partnership initiatives engaging European Investment Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank and corporations, philanthropic foundations such as Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation, and networks including ICLEI and C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. The summit reaffirmed aid and debt relief dialogues involving Paris Club, Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, and commitments toward technology transfer under frameworks linked to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Participation and notable delegates

Delegations included heads of state from South Africa (President Thabo Mbeki), United Kingdom (Prime Minister Tony Blair), United States (senior officials from the Bush administration), Brazil (President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva), India (Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee), China (Premier Jiang Zemin), Japan (Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi), and representatives from European Union institutions such as European Commission President Romano Prodi. Leading international figures included Kofi Annan of the United Nations, James Wolfensohn of the World Bank, Horst Köhler of the International Monetary Fund (Managing Directors alternated), NGO leaders like Wangari Maathai, Gro Harlem Brundtland, and private sector executives from Unilever, Siemens, Microsoft and Shell.

Implementation, follow-up and partnerships

Follow-up mechanisms relied on coordination by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and reporting to the United Nations General Assembly and the Millennium Assembly. Implementation partners included multilateral development banks—World Bank Group, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank—bilateral agencies like United States Agency for International Development, Department for International Development (UK), and philanthropic actors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The summit catalyzed numerous public–private partnerships including collaborations between UNICEF, World Health Organization, corporations and NGOs for water and sanitation, and spurred regional programs through African Union and New Partnership for Africa's Development.

Criticisms and controversies

Critics from Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Third World Network and academics at Stanford University and University of Oxford argued that outcomes were weaker than promises at Rio de Janeiro and criticized heavy influence of corporations like ExxonMobil and Shell in partnership processes. Environmentalists raised concerns regarding lack of binding commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change architecture and limited progress on biodiversity and fisheries management under the Convention on Biological Diversity and United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Social justice advocates including Oxfam International and Amnesty International highlighted unmet Millennium Development Goals targets and contested the roles of World Bank and International Monetary Fund in linking structural adjustment policies to sustainable development outcomes.

Category:United Nations conferences Category:2002 in South Africa Category:Sustainable development