Rio+20

Rio+20 Feature: Seven Issues, Seven Experts – Energy - World leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and other groups will come together next week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to take part in the UN Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20). (UN News Centre)

Going to Rio to improve the world - Next week, world leaders gather for a momentous occasion - the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro. (Ban Ki-Moon, The Canberra Times)

Rio+20: Seizing the Opportunity for a Sustainable Future - The 1992 Earth Summit was a bright moment for the environmental movement. For the first time, presidents and prime ministers—more than 100 in all—were “coming together to save the earth,” as a headline on the cover of Time magazine put it. (Manish Bapna, World Resource Institute)

229 Voluntary Commitments Reported to Date at Rio+20 - The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) Secretariat has reported on the latest submissions of voluntary commitments, which it is compiling in an online compendium on the Rio+20 website. (IISD)

The Road To Rio Goes Through Mexico: Connecting the G-20 Summit to the Rio+20 Conference - The Group of 20 developed and developing nations will meet Monday in Los Cabos, Mexico, for their seventh meeting since the initial G-20 summit in November 2008, hosted by the George W. Bush administration in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Light and Rebecca Lefton, Think Progress)

Virgin Unite and the United Postcode Lotteries Celebrate Businesses Protecting Mother Nature at Rio+Social - Today, the United Nations Foundation, Mashable, 92nd Street Y, Ericsson, Energias de Portugal (EDP), LiveAD, and Planeta Sustentável announced the support of Virgin Unite and the United Postcode Lotteries as additional sponsors of Rio+Social, a global event about the nexus of social media, technological innovation, and sustainable development. (Yahoo! News)

Rio+20 Earth summit is too important to fail, says Ban Ki-Moon - The UN secretary general said the international community was in danger of squandering a once-in-a-generation opportunity. (Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian)

Energy access

Sustaining Women - The United Nations “Rio+20” Earth Summit this month will be a staging ground to chart the course for inclusive economies, social equality, and environmental protection. For that reason, it must place sustainable development at the forefront of the global agenda. (Kandeh K. Yumkella, Michelle Bachelet, and Margaret Chan, Project Syndicate) 

IRENA publishes new report on Renewable Energy Access and Jobs - The report, released by the International Renewable Energy Agency examines job creation in the context of rural access to energy, a topic which to date has received insufficient attention. (Alliance for Rural Electrification)

Africa: Seizing the Opportunity for a Sustainable Future - The 1992 Earth Summit was a bright moment for the environmental movement. For the first time, presidents and prime ministers - more than 100 in all - were "coming together to save the earth," as a headline on the cover of Time magazine put it. (Manish Bapna, All Africa)

Energy efficiency

Energy efficient ratings to be made mandatory for TV sets - The energy efficiency ratings, which are currently seen on refrigerators and air-conditioners, will soon be applicable to LCD, plasma and CRT categories in television sets. (Times of India)

It's Summertime and Energy Is on Our Minds - As the days get longer, more and more Americans are cranking up their air conditioners and turning on their fans. (Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, The Huffington Post)

Renewable energy

Harnessing Energy for Sustainable Development in Africa - A great amount is at stake for Africa at the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), or Rio+20, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Joe Gurowsky, Africa.com)

Renewable energy seminar to focus on cutting dependence on conventional fuels - “It is natural to think about transport when you talk about diesel consumption. But, nearly one-third of the 65 million tonnes of the fuel is used to generate electricity,” asks Mr Narasimhan Santhanam, Director, Energy Alternatives India. (The Hindu)

Sustainable energy policy

The Government of Samoa Shows the World the Way With Renewable Energy and Awards Contract to Sunlogics Power Partner Group - DayStar Technologies, Inc. and Salamon Group, Inc., under contract with the Government of Samoa, shows the world the way on renewable energy in a bold and historical initiative. (MarketWatch)

Make Greening the World Your Foreign Policy: Green Transatlantic Relations - Amartya Sen gave us a good definition of a universal value: something that most people would agree with. (Jerome Simons, NRDC Switchboard)