Rio Environment Meeting Focuses on 'Energy for All' http://www.npr.org/2012/06/19/155294726/rio-environment-meeting-focuses-on-energy-for-all Rio+20 Summit Overshadowed by Global Economy http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/world/americas/rio20-summit-overshadowed-by-global-economy.html Major cities tackle climate change while Rio summit's outcome remains uncertain http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/major-cities-tackle-climate-change-while-rio-summits-outcome-remains-uncertain/2012/06/18/gJQAzSzrmV_story.html Kazuhiko Takemoto: Rio 20: What Will Come Of It? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kazuhiko-takemoto/rio-20-what-will-come-of-_b_1604405.html C40 Cities: Climate Leadership Group http://www.c40cities.org/ Rio+20 http://www.uncsd2012.org/ This week, a large gathering of diplomats and activists are meeting in Rio de Janeiro to talk about how the Earth's growing population should address concerns about the planet's environment and resources. The summit is particularly noteworthy as it marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Earth Summit, which was also held in Rio. There are high hopes for the meeting, but some commentators remain skeptical given the very serious economic and political crises that are roiling countries around the world. A few notable individuals have declined to participate, including President Barack Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain. The hope is that the representatives present at the conference may be able to tackle very large questions, such as protecting the world's forests and fisheries, and encouraging agriculture that is gentler on the land. Some people are heartened by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, which represents 59 cities around the world, including Los Angeles and Bogota. At the conference in Rio, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will publicly announce that four dozen of the world's largest cities have taken steps to cut 248 million tons of greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020. The first link will take visitors to a radio report from NPR about the international summit in Rio. The second link leads to an article from this Monday's New York Times about the difficulties involved with having such a summit at this particular moment. Moving on, the third link will take interested parties to a piece from this Tuesday's Washington Post which talks about the partnership created by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. The fourth link leads to a bit of commentary on the summit from Kazuhiko Takemoto, the senior advisor to the Japanese Minister of the Environment. The fifth link will take users to the homepage of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, where visitors can learn about their initiatives and current work. Finally, the last link will take users to the official homepage of the Rio+20 summit, complete with the agenda for the gathering and policy documents.