The process The Rio+20 processes started in May 2010 with the convergence of several UN ongoing processes related mainly to climate change, biodiversity and meetings of the Commission on Sustainable Development.
The organizations and networks representing local and regional authorities have actively participated in the process and were formally acknowledged as a Major Group, providing feedback to the formal negotiations led by States.
High-level Session of Cities, metropolises, regions and their associations United Nations Headquarters - New York 23 April 2012
UCLG and UN-Habitat, with the support of Cities Alliance and UNACLA, gathered local and regional governments leaders and their networks in New York on 23 April where their key messages for Rio+20 were presented to the United Nations SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon, other UN officials and the Group of 29 states, Friends of Sustainable Cities.
Kadir Topbas, Mayor of Istanbul and UCLG President
Local and regional governance should be clearly included in the international institutional framework of Rio+20. Rio+20 should set the ground for the Habitat III Conference and a clear role should be devoted to local and regional authorities in the Post-2015 development agenda.
Our struggle for global sustainability will be won or lost in cities. Your support has never been more crucial to delivering practical results that will defeat poverty, protect the natural environment and improve disaster risk reduction.
Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary-General
With half of humanity living in cities today, urbanization is a critical issue for Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Cities are where the pressures of migration, globalization, economic development, social inequality, environmental pollution and climate change are most directly felt (...). We expect world leaders to come up with concrete action plans to realize sustainable cities for the future we want.
Nowadays, more than half of the population is living in urban areas and we are living a unique phenomenon of urban population increase. We call to prioritize sustainable urban development through good urban design, urban legislation, economy and governance to face the challenges of the 21st century.
Joan Clos
Under-UN Secretary-General, Executive Director of UN-Habitat
Sha Zukang
Secretary-General of Rio+20 4 | www.uclg.org
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