Rio+20: Moving away from business as usual

(Vatican Radio) - How to build a green economy and how to improve international coordination for sustainable development are the two main themes being discussed at the Rio+20 summit that is currently underway in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. Thousands of participants from governments, the private sector and NGO's are attending the gathering which the U.N. has described as a chance to move away from business as usual and build a bridge for the future.

Among the participants is Martina Liebsch, Policy and Advocacy Director at Caritas Internationalis. She spoke to Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges about what Caritas is looking for from this summit and says she "fully agrees" with the U.N. that a successful Rio+20 summit outcome is crucial for our world's future.

Listen to the extended interview with Martina Liebsch:

Liebsch told Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges that Caritas International would like to see first and foremost "a future without hunger" and to help achieve this goal there would be a need to review global "trade agreements." Liebsch also expressed her concern about the recent move in many countries to use land for growing biofuels to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels. "This is not the right way" she said , because the cultivation of biofuels takes away land that could be used for growing food to feed the world's hungry and in addition these "mono" crops "also leave "the soils very depleted."

Liebsch says Caritas would like to see a very different world in the future from our present model: a world with "a civilisation of love that places the dignity and wellbeing of people at the centre." She warns there is an urgent need for human beings to reduce their patterns of consumption, saying "we are using the world's resources at a speed which is not at all sustainable" and points out that all of us,and not just politicians, can do something to reduce our consumption levels.