Rio+20 Earth Summit tackles broad sweep of sustainability challenges

At Rio+20 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil last week, was originally titled the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development. Varying reports have emerged from that conference, with many seeking to find answers to the problems surrounding sustainable development and environmental challenges.

In the beginning the conference’s aim was to set of Sustainable Development Goals that would replace the U.N. Millennium Development Goals—which were agreed to in New York in 2000 and are set to expire in 2015—to address global poverty.

Concerns were more broadbased than that at this Summit as parties recognized and pressed forward with votes to support the need for many progressive changes in the development and environment agenda, such as broad approval for addressing an array of ocean sustainability and agricultural issues and the creation of a new high-level forum that will draft new Sustainable Development Goals by 2014.

Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt, sustainability legend Gro Harlem Brundtland, IPCC Chair Rajendra K. Pachauri, EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard and 150 VIP guests celebrated the first concrete outcome at Rio+20: The launch of Sustainia100. Esri is proud to announce that Eye on Earth has been chosen for this prestigious list of solutions, according to the press release.

Eye on Earth is an environmental application leveraging Esri’s ArcGIS Online, developed with Microsoft and the European Environment Agency (EEA), to deliver air, noise, and water data to European citizens.

“Eye on Earth’s place in the Sustainia 100 shows real recognition for information sharing,” said Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency. “Knowledge can change our relationship with the environment, helping us become more sustainable and resilient to the challenges ahead. We hope the award will encourage even more citizens and organisations to get involved in Eye on Earth.”

Tags: ArcGIS Online, EEA, ESRI, Eye on Earth, Microsoft, Rio_20 Summit, sustainable development

Category: Esri

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