Earth Summit 2002: the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development
Marking the 10th anniversary year after the 1992 “Earth Summit” held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) convened heads of state from around the world, charged by the United Nations to consider progress since the 1992 conference and map out a plan for future development that would be sustainable in social, environmental, and economic terms. The WSSD, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, August 26-September 4, 2002, was preceded by preparatory meetings that engaged in lengthy and contentious negotiations on possible decisions and documents. The final preparatory meeting was held in Bali, Indonesia, May 27-June 7, but left several controversial elements of the negotiations unresolved. Many observers questioned whether the final negotiations in the days just preceding the August 26 beginning of the Summit could resolve the remaining differences, but by the end of the meeting, agreement had been reached on both a “Plan of Implementation” covering the wide spectrum of issues related to sustainable development and a “Political Declaration” approved by the 100 heads of state attending the meeting.
While attending the Johannesburg, the Stakeholder Forum team produced eight issues of Outlook 2022, all of which can be found below.
Issue 1 – Earth Summit 2002 (WSSD Johannesburg) 26 Aug 2002
Issue 2 – Earth Summit 2002 (WSSD Johannesburg) 27 Aug 2002
Issue 3 – Earth Summit 2002 (WSSD Johannesburg) 28 Aug 2002
Issue 4 – Earth Summit 2002 (WSSD Johannesburg) 29 Aug 2002
Issue 5 – Earth Summit 2002 (WSSD Johannesburg) 30 Aug 2002
Issue 6 – Earth Summit 2002 (WSSD Johannesburg) 1 Sept 2002
Issue 7 – Earth Summit 2002 (WSSD Johannesburg) 2 Sept 2002
Issue 8 – Earth Summit 2002 (WSSD Johannesburg) 4 Sept 2002
We have also included a helpful summary of the Summit, World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD): Background and Summary, by Susan R. Fletcher, at the time a Senior Analyst in the International Environmental Policy Resources, Science, and Industry Division for one of the US Departments that took part in the Summit.
