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Curated by Project Syndicate

The Road to Rio+20

14 commentaries

This week, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development brings together world leaders and representatives of business and civil society, to galvanize support for a global sustainable development agenda. But, as developed countries struggle to recover from the global recession, and emerging-market growth slows, will the international community commit to real action? Project Syndicate's contributors examine the conference's prospects and outcomes.

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  1. Rio’s Unsustainable Nonsense
    c661f80246f86f181493fc5d_m3601.jpg

    Rio’s Unsustainable Nonsense

    Jun 21, 2012 Jagdish Bhagwati

  2. Globalizing Innovation
    122e100246f86ff009f1358b_pa3894c.jpg Paul Lachine

    Globalizing Innovation

    Jun 19, 2012 Mark Stafford Smith

  3. A Rio Report Card
    1d8a0a0346f86f6810357dd3_dr4488c.jpg Dean Rohrer

    A Rio Report Card

    Jun 18, 2012 Jeffrey D. Sachs

  4. Putting Water in Rio
    pa3076c.jpg Paul Lachine

    Putting Water in Rio

    Jun 17, 2012 Famke Janssen

  5. Wrongheaded in Rio
    jk771.jpg Jon Krause

    Wrongheaded in Rio

    Jun 13, 2012 Bjørn Lomborg

  6. Green from the Grassroots
    ostrom1_Romolo Tavani_Getty images_climate Romolo Tavani/Getty Images

    Green from the Grassroots

    Jun 12, 2012 Elinor Ostrom thinks climate change is best addressed through local and regional policies.

Our Pick

Featured

  1. scherger1ARMEND NIMANIAFP via Getty Images_farming ARMEND NIMANI/AFP via Getty Images
    Free to read
    1

    Carbon Farming Won't Save the Planet

    Sophie Scherger warns that soil-storage offsets may serve as a smokescreen for polluting industries.
  2. bildt129_MaximShipenkovGettyImages_valdai_putin_fail Maxim Shipenkov/Getty Images
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    Putin’s March of Folly

    Carl Bildt argues that Russia’s president has only his own poor decisions to blame for his country’s loss of status.
  3. hausmann117_TONY KARUMBAAFP via Getty Images_africawindfarm Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
    1

    A Better Approach to Climate Finance

    Ricardo Hausmann

    By harnessing the capabilities of developing countries, we can accelerate global decarbonization while creating new growth opportunities. This approach would not only advance crucial climate goals but also ensure that a larger share of the world’s population can enjoy the fruits of the clean-energy transition.

     shows how developing countries can accelerate global decarbonization while creating new growth opportunities.
  4. ghosh83_CHRISTIAN MONTERROSAAFP via Getty Images_trump cop CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AFP via Getty Images
    1

    Trump’s Bad COP

    Jayati Ghosh says the Paris climate agreement’s future depends on how other countries respond to the new US administration.
  5. goldberg32_Spencer PlattGetty Images_USshipping Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    Are Tariffs Worth It?

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg thinks the risks and costs for the US will far outweigh any potential political or geopolitical benefits.
  6. schalatek1_Resul RehimovAnadolu via Getty Images_cop29 Resul Rehimov/Anadolu via Getty Images
    Free to read
    0

    Is the Loss and Damage Fund Becoming an Empty Promise?

    Liane Schalatek warns that rich countries are once again shirking their responsibility to provide adequate climate finance.
  7. mazzucato77_PABLOPORCIUNCULAGettyImages_G20_summit_prostest PABLO PORCIUNCULA/Getty Images
    1

    How Global Public Investment Should Work

    Mariana Mazzucato & Jonathan Glennie

    Addressing problems like climate change and biodiversity loss calls for new thinking about how to mobilize the huge volume of financing that will be needed. International cooperation must be re-framed as a collective endeavor in which all countries benefit, contribute, and make investment decisions together.

     propose a new model to unlock financing for action on climate change, biodiversity loss, and other issues.
  8. palacio163_Dominika ZarzyckaSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images_cop29finance Dominika Zarzycka/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
    1

    COP29 Must Deliver the Goods

    Ana Palacio hopes that geopolitical uncertainty will not thwart ambitious, credible climate-finance commitments.
  9. ngilman1_Ivan LiemanAFP via Getty Images_rwandagorilla Ivan Lieman/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    Interspecies Money Is Here

    Nils Gilman & Mutesi Rusagara look beyond the first ever payments to animals and see a new model for human-wildlife economic collaboration.

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