Nobel Laureates at Rio+20
Will Steffen
A group of about 20 Nobel Laureates,
covering physics, chemistry, economics, literature and peace, have been putting
their considerable collective wisdom to global sustainability issues over the
past few years. The results of their deliberations will be profiled at Rio in a
“High-Level Dialogue on Global Sustainability” on 18 June at 10am at RioCentro.
The open event follows a closed dialogue
the previous day, co-hosted by the Brazilian Government and the Stockholm
Resilience Centre, that will develop a science-based message to the world about
the risks facing humanity, and the policy options and technological
opportunities as we enter a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene.
The Nobel Laureates have been working on
global sustainability issues over the past four years with a small group of the
world’s leading global change researchers in a series of three symposia. The
first was held in Potsdam and hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and
was followed by a London symposium hosted by the Prince of Wales.
The third symposium, held last year in
Stockholm and hosted by the King of Sweden, was directly oriented towards
providing advice to the UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability and to
Rio+20. The Rio declaration, and the two dialogue events at Rio, will draw on a
set of three background papers prepared for the Stockholm symposium.
The three papers (pdf versions available
below) outline the nature of the Anthropocene and the challenges facing humanity
in navigating a successful transition to global sustainability. We’ve also
include a pdf version of the Stockholm Memorandum issued by the Nobel Laureates
after the 2011 symposium.
*Professor Will Steffen is the Executive Director of the ANU Climate Change Institute.
ANU Climate Change Institute:
http://cci.anu.edu.au/aboutus/welcome-from-executive-director/
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