Where will our world be going in the next twenty, fifty, one hundred years and what
sort of planet will we be leaving for our children and our children’s children? With
climate change, the scarcity of water and resources and continued widespread poverty,
the prognosis isn’t looking good. That’s why representatives from world governments
will be meeting in Rio de Janeiro Brazil for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development (Rio+20) from June 20-22. They will be mapping out strategies for tackling
the major ailments of our planet, many man-made. On the sidelines of the Conference
in Rio, NGO’s, environmental and development groups have been meeting at the People’s
Summit (June 15-23), sharing information with and keeping up the pressure on their
counterparts at the U.N. Conference to address what they see as the real needs of
the global community. Senior Advisor on Climate Change and Sustainable Development
for the U.K. based charity Christian Aid, Allison Doig tells Tracey McClure her organization
wants the focus to be on social justice: pulling the poor up out of poverty, and making
food, water and energy sustainable for all sectors of society. In this interview
she explains what Christian Aid is bringing to the discussions. Listen: