Initiative for Equality (IfE) had a strong presence at the March 2012 Planet Under Pressure global science conference to present input in advance of the Rio+20 Summit. The conference, convened by the UN-affiliated Global Environmental Change research programmes, was held in London on 26 – 29 March, 2012. To read more about it and see the conference Declaration, go to the official website.
IfE’s Deborah Rogers along with Uchita de Zoysa (Centre for Environment & Development, Sri Lanka) convened a session at the conference on Equity, Equality and Pathways towards Sustainability. Read Rogers’ presentation on Consequences of Socioeconomic Inequality for Sustainability. Other speakers included de Zoysa (as session Chair), Francis Baye, an economist who researches inequality in Cameroon, Kavya Michael, researcher into inequalities in contributions to greenhouse gasses in India, and Claudia Ituarte-Lima, a Mexican attorney who studies equity and indigenous voices in environmental protection in Latin America and elsewhere. The session include a 40-minute panel and audience discussion on ways to move the world’s societies towards greater equity.
Rogers and de Zoysa met with other interested individuals in London at the time of the conference to discuss the Equity Treaty and other People’s Sustainability Treaties. A press release (press-release-monday-26-march-2012-final) and press briefing on the Equity Treaty and associated Equity & Sustainability Field Hearings was made available to news media covering the conference. In addition, an article by Rogers on well-being, equality and social sustainability was part of a special journal issue on sustainability that was handed out to all the 3000+ conference participants.