Rio+20 Campaigns

Jobs

Good Jobs

Economic recession has taken a major toll on both the quantity and quality of jobs.

There are currently 190 million people unemployed and more than 500 million will be looking for jobs over the next 10 years . Economic and social policies to create gainful employment are critical for a well-balanced society.

Work should be geared to the needs of the natural environment. "Green jobs" in agriculture, industry, services and administration contribute to preserving or restoring the environment.

Green jobs also help ensure biodiversity, reduce energy consumption, de-carbonize the economy, and minimize of all forms of waste and pollution.

Facts and figures

• 1.3 billion earn less than of $2 per day, which means poverty for them and their independents.
• More than 2.3 million green jobs have been created in the renewable energy sector in recent years.
• Agriculture is still the single largest employer in the world.

Stories

Want to get involved?

Do you have a vision of a future where people everywhere enjoy decent work? Are you looking for ideas for promoting green jobs?

Then join the global conversation and connect on Twitter using #futurewewant

Energy

Sustainable energy for all

Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today. Be it for jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to energy for all is essential.

Sustainable energy is opportunity - it transforms lives, economies and the planet.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is leading a Sustainable Energy for All initiative to ensure universal access to modern energy services, improve efficiency and increase use of renewable sources.

Facts and figures

• One in five people still lacks access to modern electricity.
• 3 billion people rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waster for cooking and heating.
• Energy is the dominant contributor to climate change, accounting for around 60 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.
• Reducing the carbon intensity of energy is a key objective in long-term climate goals.

Stories

Want to get involved?

Do you have a vision of a future with sustainable energy for all? Are you looking for ideas to power a brighter future?

Then join the global conversation and connect on Twitter using #futurewewant

Cities

Sustainable cities

Cities are hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social development and much more. At their best, cities have enabled people to advance socially and economically.

However, many challenges exist to maintaining cities in a way that continues to create jobs and prosperity while not straining land and resources. Common city challenges include congestion, lack of funds to provide basic services, a shortage of adequate housing and declining infrastructure.

The challenges cities face can be overcome in ways that allow them to continue to thrive and grow, while improving resource use and reducing pollution and poverty. The future we want includes cities of opportunities, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more for all.

Facts and figures

• Half of humanity - 3.5 billion people - live in cities today.
• By 2030, almost 60 per cent of the world's population will live in urban areas.
• 95 per cent of urban expansion in the next decades will take place in developing world.
• 828 million people live in slums today and the number keeps rising.
• The world's cities occupy just 2 per cent of the Earth's land, but account for 60-80 per cent of energy consumption and 75 per cent of carbon emissions.
• Rapid urbanization is exerting pressure on fresh water supplies, sewage, the living environment, and public health.
• But the high density of cities can bring efficiency gains and technological innovation while reducing resource and energy consumption.

Stories

Want to get involved?

Do you have a vision of a sustainable city? Are you looking for ideas to green where you live?

Then join the global conversation and connect on Twitter using #futurewewant

Food

Food security and sustainable agriculture

It is time to rethink how we grow, share and consume our food.

If done right, agriculture, forestry and fisheries can provide nutritious food for all and generate decent incomes, while supporting people-centred rural development and protecting the environment.

But right now, our soils, freshwater, oceans, forests and biodiversity are being rapidly degraded. Climate change is putting even more pressure on the resources we depend on.

A profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed if we are to nourish today's 925 million hungry and the additional 2 billion people expected by 2050.

The food and agriculture sector offers key solutions for development, and is central for hunger and poverty eradication.

Facts and figures

• Agriculture is the single largest employer in the world, providing livelihoods for 40 per cent of today's global population. It is the largest source of income and jobs for poor rural households.
• Smallholder farms, most still rainfed, provide up to 80 per cent of food in developing countries, so investing in them is an important way to increase food production.
• Since the 1900s, some 75 per cent of crop diversity has been lost from farmers' fields. Better use of agricultural biodiversity can contribute to more nutritious diets, enhanced livelihoods for farming communities and more resilient and sustainable farming systems.

Stories

Want to get involved?

Do you have a vision of a world where everyone can get the food they need? Do you want to know what others are doing to ensure nutrition for all?

Then join the global conversation and connect on Twitter using #futurewewant

Water

Water for the world

Clean, accessible water for all is an essential part of the world we want to live in. There is sufficient fresh water on the planet to achieve this.

But due to bad economics or poor infrastructure, every year millions of people, most of them children, die from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene.

Water scarcity, poor water quality and inadequate sanitation negatively impact food security, livelihood choices and educational opportunities for poor families across the world. Drought afflicts some of the world's poorest countries, worsening hunger and malnutrition.

By 2050, at least one in four people is likely to live in a country affected by chronic or recurring shortages of fresh water.

Facts and figures

• 1.7 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water since 1990, but 884 million people are still without.
• 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, such as toilets or latrines.
• Each day, an average of 5,000 children die due to preventable water and sanitation-related diseases.
• Hydropower is the most important and widely-used renewable source of energy, representing 19 per cent of total electricity production worldwide.
• Approximately 70 per cent of all available water is used for irrigation.
• Floods account for 15 per cent of all deaths related to natural disasters.

Stories

Want to get involved?

Then join the global conversation and connect on Twitter using #futurewewant

Oceans

Oceans

Do you have a vision of a world where we can all access clean water? Are you looking for ideas to conserve water where you live? The world's oceans - their temperature, chemistry, currents and life - drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind.

Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea. Throughout history, oceans and seas have been vital conduits for trade and transportation.

Careful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future.

Facts and figures

• Oceans cover three quarters of the Earth's surface, contain 97 per cent of the Earth's water, and represent 99 per cent of the living space on the planet by volume.
• Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods.
• Globally, the market value of marine and coastal resources and industries is estimated at $3 trillion per year or about 5 per cent of global GDP.
• Oceans contain nearly 200,000 identified species, but actual numbers may lie in the millions.
• Oceans absorb about 30 per cent of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming.
• Oceans serve as the world's largest source of protein, with more than 2.6 billion people depending on the oceans as their primary source of protein.
• Marine fisheries directly or indirectly employ over 200 million people.
• Subsidies for fishing are contributing to the rapid depletion of many fish species and are preventing efforts to save and restore global fisheries and related jobs, causing ocean fisheries to generate US$ 50 billion less per year than they could.
• As much as 40 per cent of the world oceans are heavily affected by human activities, including pollution, depleted fisheries, and loss of coastal habitats.

Stories

Want to get involved?

Do you have a vision of a world with healthy and clean oceans? Are you looking for ideas to protect marine life?

Then join the global conversation and connect on Twitter using #futurewewant

Disasters

Disaster-resilient societies

Disasters caused by earthquakes, floods, droughts, hurricanes, tsunamis and more can have devastating impacts on people, environments and economies.

But resilience - the ability of people and places to withstand these impacts and recover quickly - remains possible. Smart choices help us recover from disasters, while poor choices make us more vulnerable. These choices relate to how we grow our food, where and how we build our homes, how our financial system works, what we teach in schools and more.

With a quickening pace of disasters taking a greater toll on lives and property, and a higher degree of concentration of human settlements, a smart future means planning ahead and staying alert.

Facts and figures

• More than 226 million people are affected by disasters every year.
• From 2000 to 2010, economic damage as a result of disasters amounted to around US$ 1 trillion.
• Less than 0.7 per cent of total relief aid goes to disaster risk reduction.
• Of the 33 cities that will have at least 8 million residents by 2015, 21 are in coastal areas.
• Women and children are 14 times more likely to die than men during a disaster.
• More than 680,000 people died in earthquakes between 2000 and 2010 due mainly to poorly-built buildings.
• Since 1980, drought and associated famine have claimed nearly 558,000 lives and affected more than 1.6 billion people.
• In East Asia and the Pacific, the risks of dying from floods and cyclones have decreased by two thirds since 1980.
• On average, 102 million people are affected every year by floods, 37 million people by cyclones, hurricanes or typhoons, and nearly 366,000 by landslides.
• Most of the 3.3 million deaths from disasters in the last 40 years have been in poorer nations.

Stories

Want to get involved?

Do you have a vision of a world where all our communities are resilient in the face of disasters? Are you looking for ideas to reduce disaster risk?

Then join the global conversation and connect on Twitter using #futurewewant