Rio+20 will define Green Economy goals to obtain effective agreement and resolve a variety of issues. The aim is to achieve sustainable development by getting down to concrete policy discussions. In terms of institutional framework to achieve sustainable development, Rio+20 participants will deliberate on establishing international organizations to comprehensively address environmental issues, and on consolidating/coordinating multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).

As stated above, the global trend is to deliberate on specific initiatives to improve human rights and inequalities and achieve economic growth while mitigating resource bottlenecks and environmental risks. In this context, Rio+20 can be considered an important opportunity for countries including Japan to reconsider what kind of socioeconomic structure should be pursued and how to address the issues.

## 2 Inputs for the Outcome Document as Proposed by Japan, after the Great East Japan Earthquake

Rio+20 requires the formulation of an effective Outcome Document to steadily make strides towards achieving sustainable development. The key is therefore to consolidate problem awareness and knowledge from governments, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and so on, so that they are reflected in the outcome of the meeting.

The United Nations Rio+20 secretariat invited participant suggestions on inputs for the Outcome Document. The goal was to ensure a fair and transparent process for consolidating a wide variety of opinions. As a result, a total of 677 proposals were submitted from countries around the world, including Japan. These inputs will be reflected in the review process to be held later, forming a basis for the Zero Draft (The Future We Want), a draft report of the Rio+20 Outcome Document. Proposals are made publicly available and can be accessed on websites related to United Nations Rio+20.

Japan’s report proposed nine key Green Economy areas based on the lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake. In the area of disaster prevention, Japan proposed the formulation of a new international agreement as an alternative to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA, formulated in 2005) to enhance disaster management systems based on the lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake. In this way, Japan proposed that international society share knowledge and lessons learned from the earthquake. Furthermore, Japan’s proposal calls for energy-saving measures that work towards a drastic energy shift that promotes the introduction of renewable energies along with the significance of technological and green innovation. In addition, Japan defined the outcome of the 10 $ ^{th} $ Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the CBD in

Table 1-1-3 Groups Submitting Proposals for Outcome Document Inputs

Group	No. of documents submitted
UN member states	100
UN agencies and intergovernmental organizations	74
Political groups	5
Regional preparation meeting	5
Other key groups	493
Total	677

Source: Ministry of the Environment based on Rio+20 website

2010, in which importance should be placed on the position of the sustainable development issue, and served as chair to take the lead in advocating strong initiatives to achieve the Aichi Targets, from the point of view that sustainable development is important issue.

Based on the proposals noted above, the Rio+20 secretariat officially announced a Zero Draft report on the Outcome Document in January 2012. The Zero Draft proposes a reconfirmation of the significance of past global initiatives (the Rio Declaration) as we work to achieve the Green Economy, and strengthening institutional framework while looking at the situation of countries addressing the issues and frameworks for evaluating these issues.

In the Zero Draft, while developing countries call for enhancing ODA commitments and the significance of technology transfers, EU stresses the formulation of a Green Economy roadmap and making the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) a specialized

Table 1-1-4 9 Proposals for Sustainable Development in Japanese Government's Input

Area	Proposal
(1) Disaster prevention	Formulate post-Hyogo Framework. Integrate disaster prevention into development policy. Share knowledge and lessons learned from disasters such as the Great East Japan Earthquake with international society.
(2) Energy	Promote energy-saving, renewable energy, and clean energy as a way to move towards a drastic energy shift.
(3) Food security	Achieve security with sustainable agriculture, including increased investment for agricultural areas to increase food production, and move forward with responsible agriculture investment, consolidation, and streamlining.
(4) Water	Start considering goals related to comprehensive water resource management as a substitute for the Hashimoto Action Plan II.
(5) Future City initiative	Provide a Future City initiative model for the continued creation of value in the economy, society, and the environmental.
(6) Education for sustainable development	Address the fostering of sustainable citizens by promoting and sharing initiatives for sustainable development education.
(7) Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS)	Further strengthen the earth observation system network through GEOSS to appropriately address global issues.
(8) Technological innovation and green innovation	Recognize the significance of technological innovation and green innovation for launching initiatives in line with growth phases.
(9) Biodiversity	Reconfirm the importance of the Aichi Targets to encourage participation in international efforts, thereby enhancing activities aimed at achieving the targets.

Source: Japanese Government’s Input to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) Outcome Document

agency. The United States emphasized the importance of nongovernmental bodies.

Japan advocates the following points for sustainable development: the "developed" versus "developing" country dichotomy should be reviewed; the transition to the Green Economy is inevitable; it is important to agree and implement concrete measures to improve institutional frameworks, as well as to discuss a question of reorganization; and human security should be added to the draft.

The achievements of the Outcome Document Meeting will come under the spotlight in terms of how to consolidate deliberations in the future, and what agreements the world can come to in order to achieve a sustainable society.

## 3 Initiatives of Various Parties and the Multi-Stakeholder Process

Rio+20 is committed to actively involving non-government stakeholders such as businesses and NGOs. During the Rio+20 session a People Summit attended by NPOs and businesses will be held in Rio de Janeiro in the same way as the official meetings held by country representatives. Under the People Summit scheme, many of these groups from all over the world will gather for various events and lectures to deliberate on issues related to sustainable development.

Opening this dialogue to a broad range of parties can encourage proactive efforts. This is likely to further boost the legitimacy of the dialogue, as it will now reflect the standpoints and perspectives of participants with diverse backgrounds. At the same time, decisions and agreements can be reached as a result of these dialogues. These decision-making processes are known as a Multi-Stakeholder Process (MSP), and they demonstrate the effectiveness of comprehensively addressing issues such as the environment, the economy, and the society under the scheme of Agenda 21.

In Japan, the preparatory committee for Rio+20 was established in July 2011 by a suggestion from the United Nations secretariat. The total 5 committees and 2 workshops had been held by March 2012 and offered opportunities for various social groups to have discussions. The preparatory committee submitted an input proposal to the United Nations secretariat in October 2011.

## Section 2 Global Trends for Achieving a Sustainable Environment, Economy, and Society

The previous section described trends in international discussions related to the realization of a sustainable society, focusing on Rio+20. The Green Economy, one of the main themes of the conference, indicates ideal measures and resolutions for simultaneously conquering resource bottlenecks, mitigating environmental impacts, achieving economic growth, and improving the quality of human life and welfare. This agenda is attracting attention from around the world.

This section gives an overview of global trends toward achieving a sustainable environment, economy, and society based on two reports: (1) Green Economy published by UNEP in November 2011; and (2) Towards Green Growth published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in May 2011, as a part of a green growth strategy to review global trends for achieving sustainability of the environment, the economy, and the society.

Table 1-2-1 UNEP Green Economy and OECD Green Growth
Green Economy (UNEP)	Improving human well-being and achieving social equality while reducing environmental risks.
Green Growth (OECD)	Simultaneously overcoming resource bottlenecks and mitigating environmental impact while achieving economic growth.
Source: UNEP Green Economy, OECD Toward Green Growth

## 1 Green Economy for UNEP

UNEP defines the Green Economy as one that results in improving human well-being and achieving social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. In the Green Economy, goals are set to improve environmental quality in order to ensure that people engage in wholesome activities and maintain their well-being, to achieve economic growth, and to encourage investment in dealing with environmental and social issues. Faced with global problems such as climate change, energy supply, and loss of ecosystems, the report focuses on correcting the wealth disparity among nations and generations.

Policy measures to achieve the Green Economy are suggested: prioritizing governmental investments and expenses in areas that effectively stimulate the transformation to the Green Economy, and reducing expenditures in fields that harm natural capital; tax systems and market mechanisms that attract consumers and promote green investments and technology development; investment for human resource development; strengthening international cooperation; effective regulations; valid evaluation of natural capital; and investments for R&D or technological innovation. Sustainability and equality management are analyzed with a focus on the poor, whose