WSSD background

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How did the UK prepare for the summit?

What were the outcomes of the summit?

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World Summit on Sustainable Development Johannesburg

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) took place in Johannesburg from 26 August to 4 September 2002. The following page outlines the UK Government's and other groups' preparations for WSSD at home and abroad, and the outcomes of the Summit itself.

General information on the Summit and its main outcomes, including important documents, are available on the official UN WSSD website.

On 24 October 2001 the Prime Minister announced his intention to attend WSSD during his speech to the CBI/Green Alliance. He was the first world leader to commit to attending, he said:

"I am committed to going personally to the Rio+10 Conference in South Africa. Of course, it is about the environment: the issues of climate change, sustainable industrial growth, preservation of forests, fishing stocks and a range of other familiar issues. But it is not just about the environment. It is about sustainable development as a whole. It is about the reduction of poverty, relief from debt, widening educational opportunity, tackling disease and linking these goals to those of conserving the natural resources upon which the poorest depend for clean water, food, fresh air and their living."

The Ministerial level preparatory meeting for the Summit, was held in Bali, Indonesia (from 24th May - 7th June 2002). Progress there was slow, but the outcomes did give us a basis for the final run up to Johannesburg.

The UK was very active nationally and internationally in the preparations for WSSD and fully supported the UN's 'bottom up' approach to the Summit preparations. The United Nation's local Agenda 21 recognises 9 key civil society stakeholder groups: youth; business and industry; NGO's; women; local government; farmers; scientific and technology communities; indigenous peoples and workers and trade unions. The UK worked hard to involve all of these groups, and more, in preparation for the summit.

183 countries took part in WSSD. The Prime Minister made the UK national statement to the General Assembly of the Summit on the 2 September. There were 3 formal outcomes from the Summit, a Political Declaration, a detailed plan of implementation (PDF), and a number of Type 2 Multi-stakeholder partnerships.

In an answer to the House of Commons on the outcomes of the Summit the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Margaret Beckett said:

"Johannesburg demonstrated that it is possible to reach agreement on practical steps towards a more sustainable world. We must, and will, keep moving forward. In the words of the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan; 'This Summit will put us on a path that reduces poverty while protecting the environment, a path that works for all peoples, rich and poor, today and tomorrow. We have to go out and take action. This is not the end. It's the beginning.'"

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Updated: 07 March 2005