Abstract
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) was hosted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 20–22, 2012, 20 years after the first Earth Summit, with the intention of creating solutions to current global environmental issues. In this paper we present the results of an analysis of academic and newspaper articles that covered the Rio +20 summit, using an ability expectation lens. Articles were collected from academic databases such as EBSCO, as well as from newspapers such as the Globe and Mail (Canada) and China Daily; the articles collected were coded for ability expectations using an extensive list of codes which has been designed to identify ability expectations. Analysis of the discourse has revealed a number of ability expectations, such as the ability to produce and consume, the ability to work, and the ability to control. These ability expectations reveal what is seen as a necessary part of development. The opportunities and challenges which occur during development may be related to the expectations of the public, academic, private and not-for-profit sectors. The authors submit that in order to move forward towards universal sustainable development, it is critical to consider the ability expectations which are both explicitly and implicitly included in the Rio +20 discourse.
Highlights
IntroductionThe conference was intended to bring together representatives from countries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders in order to discuss the progress which has been made and the challenges still apparent since the first Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro 20 years earlier
Based on the scope of newspapers chosen, the authors felt that the findings indicated that Rio +20 was not a common topic in newspapers and did not conduct any further searches
The Rio +20 discourse entails positive discussion around ways to achieve the goals of the summit, and the summit was perceived to be a disappoint, the academic and non-academic discourse reveal that the public and academic/professional communities are willing to work in achieving those goals as well
Summary
The conference was intended to bring together representatives from countries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders in order to discuss the progress which has been made and the challenges still apparent since the first Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro 20 years earlier. Leading up to the conference, a host of activities and discussion occurred, including: advocacy events for and by environmentalists, economists, foresters, farmers, academics and other stakeholder groups; preparatory committee meetings held by the United Nations; and the development of zero draft submissions that involved revisions based on the demands of different stakeholders. Along with the United Nations, there were academics, professionals from a variety of fields, public and citizen stakeholders from a range of sectors and parts of the world who participated in creation of zero draft submissions and hosting of events which became a part of the discourse. The Rio +20 discourse includes discussion within and amongst academic and non-academic parties
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