The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20, 20th to 22nd June 2012) has the challenging aim of achieving a consensus on stronger means of implementation for policies addressing social, ecological and economic development.

In the run-up to the Rio Conference, a package of proposals for bringing new momentum to global sustainability policies is being negotiated. The research paper looks into four important areas and is structured as follows: The introduction discusses the summit with a reference to the Rio process since 1992 and analyses the positions of key players. Chapter 2 pursues the question of whether the proposed concept of a Green Economy in the Context of Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication (GESDPE) will achieve international consensus and evaluates the chances for a Green Economy Roadmap proposed by the European Union. Chapter 3 explores the current debate surrounding the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Chapter 4 addresses the reform of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with a particular focus on the EU's declared aim of upgrading the programme to a UN specialized agency. Another important issue is the reform of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), the proposal to transform the CSD into a Sustainable Development Council is elaborated in Chapter 5.