Ban at Rio+20: 'Time is not on our side'

"Time is not on our side" to make economic growth and social progress truly serve humanity, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at the Brazil U.N. Earth summit. "We recognize that the old model for economic development and social advancement is broken," Ban told world leaders, development experts, bankers, academics and activists at the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, popularly known as Rio+20, or the Rio Earth Summit 2012. "Rio+20 has given us a unique chance to set it right ... to set a new course that truly balances the imperatives of robust growth and economic development with the social and environmental dimensions of sustainable prosperity and human well-being," Ban said. "The world is watching to see if words will translate into action as we know they must," he said. "It's time for all of us to think globally and long term, beginning here now in Rio, for time is not on our side." Ban told delegates he was disappointed a 53-page draft document agreed on by negotiators Tuesday is vague. "Nature does not wait," he said. "Nature does not negotiate with human beings." The document outlines aspirations for tackling environmental ills and lifting billions out of poverty through policies that nurture rather than squander natural resources. But it sets no mandatory goals, and most timetables, targets, financing figures, methods of monitoring and clear language on commitments were stripped out. On Friday, summit leaders are to approve the non-binding document, titled "The Future We Want." "Some member states hoped for a bolder ambitious document," Ban told reporters. "I also hoped that we could have a more ambitious outcome document. But you should understand that negotiations have been very difficult and very slow because of all these conflicting interests. "This is the outcome of a long and very delicate process. This is not the end. This is the beginning of a process," he said. French President Francois Hollande described the draft as "a step" but "an insufficient step." "It will be up to world leaders to make a positive step," he told reporters. U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern said: "Everybody has things that they have given up in the document in one way or the other. This is the thread that once you start pulling on it, it unravels quickly." Climate Action Network-International, an umbrella group of environmental groups active on climate change, gave its "Fossil of the Day" award to all 191 countries at the conference for adopting a "shockingly weak outcome text [that] did not reflect 'The Future We Want.'" The Rio+20 commemorates the 20th anniversary of a landmark U.N. Earth Summit that produced a global framework on climate change and an agreement to protect biodiversity. Both agreements were binding but have yielded results that most scientists and environmental groups consider modest at best. The 1992 summit also paved the way for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases, which is to expire this year.