Rio+20 earth summit concludes with good intentions, but few commitments

OTTAWA – The huge Rio de Janeiro summit on sustainable development is drawing to a messy close and the end results mean Canada does not have to lift a finger to fulfil the meeting’s vision.

The Rio+20 conference drew tens of thousands of government delegates, organizers and activists to Brazil this week in an effort to plot ways to protect the environment and eradicate poverty at the same time.

The final joint document is very long — about 50 pages — and is filled with plenty of good intentions, but few commitments or timelines.

Canada’s environment minister Peter Kent says it won’t oblige Canada to make any changes and that’s a good thing.

He says the summit reinvigorates global will to promote sustainable development, without committing countries to poorly designed “instant confections” that would interfere with other international processes.