While Rio was long on rhetoric about creating a more sustainable future, it is clear that we are not even close to doing so. Most indicators point to a continuing deterioration of the global environment. Rapid population growth persists. Greenhouse gas emissions escalate. Forest loss remains severe.
Countless species continue to go extinct.
Next month you will hear lots of theories for why we are not doing better, and there will probably be some truth in all of them. Certainly, for example, many developed countries have not lived up to promises of increased development assistance and technology transfer. And many developing countries have not lived up to the policy reforms they agreed to undertake. Nevertheless, I believe the real answer is far more complicated. Everyone wants a clean environment, and every politician wants to promise one.