Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has joined other world leaders who have gathered in Rio for a three-day United Nations meeting on sustainable development.
The summit is expected to include nearly 100 Heads of State and Government by the time it concludes on Friday, with over 193 state delegations attending.
The themes of the conference include: A Green Economy within the Context of Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction; Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development, and Sustainable Development Goals.
The leaders are expected to come out with clear goals on how nations can promote sustainable development without further endangering the globe.
South Africa, Africa's biggest economy, has over the years made conscious efforts to move towards a green economy as part of the country's long term plan to grow its economy while mitigating the effects of climate change. The country's green economy growth path seeks to address economic growth without exposing future generations to severe environmental risks.
The conference is expected to discuss renewed political commitment for sustainable development; assess progress and means of addressing the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of major summits on sustainable development, and how to meet and address new and emerging challenges.
It will further focus on critical issues centred on sustainable development, one of them being energy provision since access to energy forms an important part of poverty eradication and sustainable development.
Last week, Cabinet reaffirmed the watershed outcome of the climate change summit held in Durban last year, saying it served as a foundation and catalyst for the broader focus on sustainable development at Rio+20.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize used the summit to showcase the province's programmes aimed at addressing climate change. These included the solar water heater project; the commitment to plant one million trees by 2015, and pilots in hydro-electricity, biotech fuels and electricity cogeneration.
