The Environment Minister, Izabella Teixeira, said yesterday that the fundamental role of Brazil at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, will be strategic, seeking a consensus among the participating countries: “Brazil has a unique opportunity to lead the pursuit for convergence between the various camps to ensure a successful meeting”, she stated. “We want a strong sustainable development agenda at the UN”.

During the first of a series of meetings to broaden the debate on this issue with Brazilian States and Municipalities, the Minister made a point of emphasizing the importance of including the public in discussions. “It is the first time that the general public will debate topics in a UN conference that are related to the political arena and that will impact the decisions of government leaders and Heads of State”, she said.

Faced with the prospect that around 80 to 90% of the world population will be concentrated in cities by year 2050, Izabella Teixeira drew attention to the need to discuss the concept of a sustainable city. However, according to the Minister, the debate needs to take into account differing regional realities. “Discussing this topic in Acre is different to discussing it in the Pantanal or in the Northeast. The model of environmental governance in Brazil needs to be modernized and updated”.