One year ago, the world's leaders met in Rio de Janeiro, together with about 50,000 concerned individuals and representatives from major groups, including business and academia. These leaders, in a report entitled "The Future We Want", agreed to pursue the necessary steps to take the world toward a more sustainable future.

The Rio+20 conference was a milestone on the long road to sustainable development. It cemented support for the agreements reached at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and renewed the commitment of leaders to put their countries on a path toward improving people's lives today while preserving the planet for future generations.

It was a bright moment of international cooperation at a time of profound national and global challenges. The leaders agreed to develop a new set of sustainable development goals, building upon the achievements of the UN Millennium Development Goals launched 13 years ago that have played a important role in the fight against poverty.