Twenty years after the Earth Summit in Rio (Brazil), environmental damage has continued accelerating, inequalities have widened and the ongoing crises undermine democracy. It is in this context that the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as “Rio+20”, takes place in June 2012.

 

At the forefront of this conference is the “green economy”, presented as a solution for the ecological, economic and social crises. Defined by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as “an economy which brings about an increase in human well-being and social equality, while significantly reducing environmental risks and resource scarcity“, in reality, it consists in applying market instruments and mechanisms in order to “manage” nature and human wellbeing. The aim therefore is to transform the ecological crisis into a “green” growth opportunity for business, with the creation of an international legal framework which favours the takeover of nature by multinational corporations and financial funds.

 

The banks have successfully infiltrated the international institutions. The creation, and official recognition, of an UNEP Finance branch allows them to promote their private interests as public interests. Central in this strategy is the launch, at Rio+20, of a “Natural Capital Declaration”. What is this? The vision of the financiers, based on the conception of environment and of life as a simple capital resource, and their support for mechanisms that push the financialization of nature.

Watch the video:
- english : https://vimeo.com/43398910
- french : https://vimeo.com/44103161
- spanish and german version soon available ;

An iniciative of SOMO, European Attac Network, Food&Water Europe, Friends of Earth, Amis de la Terre, Carbon Trade Watch, WEED, Ecologistas en Acción, Aitec and Campagna per la riforma della Banca Mondiale.

 

Produced by La Antena and AttacTV. Animated by desarme s.c.

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