ESG Newsletter | Rio +30 Cidades – Rio de Janeiro’s Municipality announces conference on sustainable and inclusive urban development

The Municipal Government of Rio de Janeiro announced, at the end of March, the Rio +30 Cidades conference, which will take place between October 17 and 19, 2022. The conference is expected to address the topic of economic development from environmental and social perspectives, seeking to consolidate an agenda to support nature and society, especially aimed at the mitigation of impacts arising from social inequality. Consequently, it is possible to observe the integration of the “E” and “S” themes, currently much-discussed by several sectors within the scope of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), into events such as the abovementioned conference. For more information on the conference, please find further details below.

The event will celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the Rio 92 Conference, which took place between July 3 and 14 of 1992, consolidating the first United Nations (“UN”) event on Environment and Sustainable Development, with the participation of 175 countries’ delegations, in addition to representatives of social movements, civil society and the private sector.

Rio 92 was held in order to propose to the participating countries an economic development model aligned with the goals of protecting biodiversity and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources, with the purpose of addressing growing problems concerning the emission of greenhouse gases.

The Rio 92 Conference represented an important milestone for environmental law and consolidated several legal instruments of international law, as well as a number of guiding principles for the topic, such as the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, among others.

In order to continue efforts and assess updates introduced in global discussions on the environment and sustainable development, the Rio +30 Cidades Conference will be held with the purpose of addressing issues concerning sustainable and inclusive urban development. The Conference will be focused on discussing the future of the participating municipalities regarding the development of such issues, aimed also at the development of public policies.

Rio +30 Cidades is supported by the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan), the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp), Columbia Global Centers, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Resilient Cities Network, the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI), the Milan Pact, and the C40 network, among other institutions. The event is expected to be attended by politicians, academics, local leaders, activists, and representatives of traditional communities, industries and commerce.

Rio +30 Cidades will host the 8^th Global Forum of the Milan Pact, which will address local policies to increase food security, an initiative supported by Brazilian municipal governments, international local governments, international organizations, and members of civil society and city networks such as the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI).

Demarest’s ESG and Environmental law teams  are available to provide any further clarifications that may be necessary.