In June 2012, 20 years after the first “Earth Summit”, heads of state and government will attend the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) or "Rio+20”. In light of this, the Committee of the Regions of the European Union (CoR), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the ICLEI member city, Malmö are hosting the ‘Towards Rio+20: Local and regional action for green economy’ Conference on 4 October 2011.

The event’s main focus will be to secure renewed political commitment to sustainable development through themes of “a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication” and “the institutional framework for sustainable development”. ICLEI will join speakers from across Europe to discuss the strategic framework for a green economy, its financing in our cities and regions and also how governance can be improved for a green economy.

The conference aims to give EU cities and regions a voice in preparation for the Rio+20 Earth Summit. Involving local and regional authorities in the Rio+20 process is crucial to ensure that Rio+20 will be a major milestone for tangible, effective action that can have real impact across the world. The conference is free of charge and those interested in attending can email enve@cor.europa.eu to find out more.

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