The Legacy of the Stockholm Conference
In 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm set off a chain of events that rewrote how countries tackle environmental challenges. How do we take the lessons of the past half century and apply them to our triple planetary crisis?
Our Earth Negotiations Bulletin team sat down with environmental leaders to revisit the legacies of that original conference in Stockholm, from the development of the Rio Conventions and the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions to the establishment of national ministries on environmental issues around the world. They also look at what work still remains, from implementation to ensuring intergenerational justice.
Watch below to hear from:
- Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Executive Secretary, United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD)
- Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
- H.E. Ambassador Peter Thomson, United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean
Follow our Earth Negotiations Bulletin team's coverage of Stockholm+50 and explore with IISD the history, lessons learned, and road ahead for sustainable development.
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The Significance of Stockholm+50
Ambassador Johanna Lissinger-Peitz of Sweden explains why it matters that we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stockholm Conference and how we live up to its vision.
What Comes After Stockholm+50?
World leaders will mark half a century since the 1972 Stockholm Conference... and then depart. What comes next as we face accelerating societal and environmental challenges?
Scientific evidence on the political impact of the Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to guide public policies and inspire societal actors to promote sustainable development worldwide. The core of this programme is 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 specific targets, most of them to be achieved by 2030. Although the SDGs are not the first effort to set global goals (and they have been criticized earlier on), they are still by far the most comprehensive and detailed attempt by the United Nations to advance sustainable development. After six years of implementation, the question arises whether these 17 SDGs have had any political impact within national and global governance to address pressing challenges such as poverty eradication, social justice and environmental protection.
Web of resilience
Pakistan's development model has still not recognised the limits of the natural environment and the damage it would cause, if violated, to the sustainability of development and to the health and well-being of its population. Pakistan’s environment journey began with Stockholm Declaration in 1972. A delegation led by Nusrat Bhutto represented the country at the Stockholm meeting, resulting in the establishment of the Urban Affairs Division (UAD), the precursor of today’s Ministry of Climate Change. In setting the country’s environmental agenda, we were inspired by the Stockholm Principles, but in reality, we have mostly ignored them for the last five decades.