Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation and Special Presidential Representative on Climate Issues Alexander Bedritsky participated in the second meeting of the High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability, which was held in Cape Town on February 24–25, 2011.
Topics discussed at the meeting, which was chaired by President of Finland Tarja Halonen and President of South Africa Jacob Zuma, included progress in drafting the Panel’s report to the ‘Rio plus 20’ UN Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Brazil in 2012.
Scheduled for release in December 2011, the report will detail recommendations on implementing sustainable development principles aimed at eradicating poverty and promoting a green economy thus proposing a new paradigm for long-term development, taking into account modern challenges like climate change, energy consumption growth, natural resources depletion, food and fresh water shortages, unemployment, etc.