Discussion event organised by the Nationaal Platform Rio+20 (NPRio+20) and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The discussion will address global environmental change and development policies and the necessity of an international institutional framework for sustainable development. The discussion will be opened and chaired by Kitty van der Heijden, director of the Climate, Energy, Environment and Water Department of the Foreign Ministry, and Ambassador for Sustainable Development.
Johan Rockström, director of the Stockholm Resilience Center will present the priorities for Rio+20 from a planetary boundaries perspective and the need to stay within the safe operating space for mankind.
Maarten Hajer, director of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) will present findings of recent PBL studies on potential pathways to realise in parallel the multiple sustainability targets that the world has committed to.
Frank Biermann, professor at the VU University Amsterdam and Lund University, and chair of the Earth System Governance Project will introduce the options for institutional reforms on international level required to enable the necessary changes outlined in the previous presentations.
The presentations will be followed by a discussion with the panellists and the audience about what needs to be agreed upon at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in order to accelerate ecological and social sustainable development.