Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has arrived for the Rio+20 conference of the UN for sustainable development. Over 135 heads of states and governments will attend the conference. Participants of the summit are expected to evaluate the process of environmental protection of the last two decade and confirm readiness for sustainable economic and social development, RIA Novosti reports.
The main issues are sustainable economic development, scrapping subsidized resource extraction, transfer of technologies, financial aid for sustainable development and the status of the UN environmental program.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon formed a high-level group for global stability two years ago. He recommended states in early 2012 to set the goals of sustainable development in addition to the 8 international development goals agreed on by UN members and international organizations in 2000 for 2015.
Ban Ki-moon called the Millennium Development Goals a minimum for the conference.
The G20 in Pittsburg agreed in 2009 to scrap risky subsidies in fuel production. Ecologists say that finances need to be spent on renewable energy. WWF in Russia evaluated $14.4 billion of Russian subsidies in 2010. Oil Change International says that no G20 state has managed to do without fuel subsidies.
Armenian Foreign minister Edward Nalbandian will attend the Rio de Janeiro conference.
Rio de Janeiro saw the closing of the largest landfill in early June. Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes put a symbolic lock on the 1.3 million square meter landfill. About 60 million tons of waste accumulated there in 34 years, ITAR-TASS reports.
The Jardim Gramacho landfill will undergo restoration to stop polluting the Guanabara Bay. The landfill used to receive 6,000 tons of waste daily. A waste processing facility was built 75 km away from the city. Over 1,500 people were operating at the landfill. Permanent workers received $7,000 of compensations.
