Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992, produced a significant statement known as the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, usually referred to as the Rio Declaration or the Rio Earth Summit Declaration. This event is frequently referred to as the “Earth Summit.”

The 27 guiding principles of the Rio Declaration seek to define the fundamental duties and rights relating to environmental preservation and sustainable development. It demonstrates the agreement of the participating countries that environmental challenges must be addressed immediately while fostering social and economic development.

Here is a summary of some of the main ideas in the Rio Declaration:

• Principle 1: Concerns for sustainable development are centered on people. They have the right to live a productive, healthy life in balance with the environment.
• Principle 2: States have the responsibility to ensure that activities under their jurisdiction or control do not harm the environment of other States or of areas outside of national jurisdiction, while also having the sovereign right to do so in accordance with their own environmental and development policies, as well as the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter.
• Principle 3: The right to development must be respected in order to fairly address the environmental and developmental requirements of the present and coming generations.
• Principle 4: Environmental protection must be a crucial component of the development process in order to achieve sustainable development; it cannot be seen separately from it.
• Principle 5: In order to reduce the gaps in living standards and better meet the needs of the majority of people on the planet, all States and all people must work together to eradicate poverty, which is a necessary condition for sustainable development.
• Principle 6: Special consideration must be given to the unique circumstances and requirements of emerging nations, especially those that are least developed and ecologically vulnerable. All nations’ interests and requirements should be taken into consideration while taking international action in the fields of environment and development.
• Principle 7: States shall work together in a spirit of international partnership to maintain the ecosystem’s health and integrity. States have similar but distinct obligations given the various ways in which the global environment is degrading. In light of the demands their societies impose on the environment, as well as the technology and financial resources they control, the developed countries recognize their role in the global effort to achieve sustainable development.
• Principle 8: States should decrease and remove unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote suitable demographic policies in order to ensure sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people.
• Principle 9: By exchanging scientific and technological knowledge, improving scientific understanding, and promoting the development, adaptation, diffusion, and transfer of technologies, including new and innovative technologies, states should cooperate to strengthen endogenous capacity-building for sustainable development.
• Principle 10: It is best to tackle environmental challenges with the involvement of all interested persons, at the appropriate level. At the federal level, every person shall have reasonable access to environmental information kept by public authorities, including details on dangerous substances and activities in their neighborhoods, as well as the chance to participate in decision-making processes. States must support and promote public engagement and awareness by making information publicly accessible. It is required to give effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy.
• Principle11: States must pass robust environmental legislation. The environmental and developmental context to which they are applicable should be reflected in environmental standards, management goals, and priorities. The standards that certain nations use may not be suitable and may cause unjustified economic and social costs to other nations, particularly developing nations.
• Principle 12: To better address the issues of environmental degradation, States should work together to build a hospitable and open international economic system that would result in economic growth and sustainable development in all nations. Environmental trade policy measures shouldn’t be used as a cover for arbitrary or unjustified discrimination or a veiled impediment to global trade. Avoid taking unilateral measures to address environmental issues that are not beyond the importer’s control. Insofar as is practical, environmental policies addressing transnational or global environmental issues should be founded on international agreement.
• Principle 13: States must create national legislation governing who is responsible for what kind of environmental harm and how much money they can give the victims. States must work together more quickly and resolutely to advance international law regarding compensation for harmful environmental effects brought on by activities under their control or jurisdiction in areas outside of their jurisdiction.
• Principle 14: The relocation and transfer of any activities or chemicals that significantly degrade the environment or are found to be detrimental to human health to other States shall be discouraged or prevented by effective state cooperation.
• Principle 15: States shall generally apply the precautionary approach in accordance with their capacity to safeguard the environment. Lack of complete scientific knowledge shall not be used as an excuse for delaying cost-effective steps to avoid environmental deterioration where there are dangers of serious or irreparable harm.
• Principle 16: National governments should work to encourage the internalization of environmental costs and the use of economic tools, keeping in mind that, in theory, the polluter should be responsible for paying the costs of their own pollution, while also taking into account the public interest and avoiding any distortions to trade and investment between nations.
• Principle 17: Proposed activities that are expected to have a major negative impact on the environment and are subject to a decision by a competent national authority shall undergo environmental impact assessment as a national instrument.
• Principle 18: States are required to notify other States of any natural disasters or other events that could have sudden, detrimental consequences on other States’ environments. The international community shall make every effort to assist such States.
• Principle 19: States must tell potentially impacted States in advance and in a timely manner about activities that may have a significant negative transboundary environmental effect. They must also consult with these States early on and in good faith.
• Principle 20: Women are essential to the development and maintenance of the environment. So it is crucial that they participate fully if we are to achieve sustainable development.
• Principle 21: In order to achieve sustainable development and guarantee a brighter future for everyone, the creativity, idealism, and courage of young people around the world should be engaged to create a worldwide partnership.
• Principle 22: The knowledge and customs of indigenous people, their communities, and other local communities play a significant role in environmental management and development. The recognition and proper support of their identity, culture, and interests by the state is necessary to ensure that they can effectively contribute to the realization of sustainable development.
• Principle 23: People who are subject to oppression, dominance, or occupation must have their natural resources preserved.
• Principle 24: Warfare is fundamentally harmful of sustainable development. Therefore, states must abide by international law that protects the environment during armed conflict and work together as needed to advance that law.
• Principle 25: The pursuit of peace and the advancement of development are mutually dependent and indivisible.
• Principle 26: States must handle any environmental conflicts peacefully and legally in conformity with the United Nations Charter.
• Principle 27: In order to fulfill the goals outlined in this Declaration and advance international law in the area of sustainable development, States and people must work together in good faith and in a spirit of cooperation.

Several later international accords and commitments on environmental and sustainable development issues were built around these concepts, among others. Significant outcomes of the Earth Summit included the Rio Declaration, the Agenda 21 action plan, and the creation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), all of which aided in efforts to address environmental issues and promote sustainable development worldwide.