Interview with Dr. Klaus Jacob on Deutschlandfunk
06/21/2012
On the occasion of the World Summit for Sustainable Development which is currently taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Dr. Klaus Jacob gave an interview for the Deutschlandfunk radio’s programme “Forschung Aktuell” on June 18, 2012. In the interview he made an assessment of Agenda 21, the action plan that has been adopted during the first Earth Summit twenty years ago.
His overall review of the programme’s outcome was rather positive: Agenda 21 had a number of positive effects, such as the development of sustainability plans as well as the establishment of ministries of the environment in many countries. However, Agenda 21 did not create a binding legal framework which would allow for legal action against countries that fail to comply with international agreements. The establishment of an international court dealing with environmental issues could considerably improve compliance with environmental agreements. Due to the financial crisis of the last years, many decision makers increasingly focused on economic issues and lost sight of other issues such as sustainable development.
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