Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro

Popularly known as the 'Earth Summit', the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held on 3-14 June 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, marked the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972. Virtually every country in the world was represented (178) and more than 100 heads of state attended. The participating world leaders signed five major instruments: The Rio Declaration (a statement of principles); Agenda 21 (a framework for activity into the 21st century addressing the combined issues of environment protections and fair and equitable development for all, and includes the creation of a new Commission for Sustainable Development); a Framework Convention on Climate Change; a Framework Convention on Biological Diversity; and a Statement of Principles on Forests.