Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan to Attend the UN Conference on Sustainable Development ("Rio+20") in Brazil, From 20 to 22 June 2012

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan will be attending the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012.

The UNCSD, or “Rio+20” as it is commonly known, aims to produce global political consensus for sustainable development in order to address poverty reduction, social equity and environmental protection in the face of rapidly emerging environmental and economic challenges.

The first landmark international conference on sustainable development was the Earth Summit, or the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This was followed by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) ten years later in Johannesburg, South Africa. As a Member State of the United Nations, Singapore had participated in both the Earth Summit and WSSD.

Dr Balakrishnan will deliver Singapore’s national statement at the Rio+20, and will also hold bilateral meetings with the Heads of Delegations of selected countries on the sidelines of the Conference. He will be accompanied by officials from the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Climate Change Secretariat, and National Environment Agency.

Source: Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources