ABSTRACT
The World Commission on Environment and Development Report, produced after 900 days of deliberation by an international group of politicians, civil servants and experts on environment and development, is the key statement of sustainable development. Since the publication of Limits to Growth and the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, many people have been persuaded that the earth’s environment is rapidly deteriorating. Thus, while population rises by 100 million a year, earth’s capacity to support humankind is reduced. Brundtland’s analysis of the present state of the world starts from the identification of a mismatch between the capacities of the natural systems of the earth and humanity’s ability to fit its activities into this framework. The Rio conference was the largest environmental conference ever and some 30,000 people attended. It was also the largest ever meeting of heads of state. During the Rio conference there was continuous dispute over finance, control and the relative importance of consumption rates and population.
