Thirteen years after the Vienna Conference, one of the key issues at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, , also known as the Rio Summit or Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from 3-14th June, 1992, was taken from the unresolved agenda of ‘Vienna’: technology cooperation and the access of developing countries to the industrialized world’s advanced technology.

Moreover, all agreements at the Rio Conference contain some provisions regarding science and technology. For example, Chapter 34 of Agenda 21, the Programme of Action for Sustainable Development adopted by the conference, is devoted to the transfer of environmentally sound technologies, cooperation and capacity-building, while Chapter 35 deals with the role of science in sustainable development. 

Environmentally sound technologies were considered “a test case of technology cooperation for the international community, including Governments, enterprises and development cooperation agencies, given the urgency of global environmental change and the agreements reached at the Rio Conference. Thus, [indicating that] science and technology can play an important role in the long-term global search for balance among the three objectives — development, equity and environment.” (UN, 1997)

 

Sources:

UNCTAD (1997)  ‘Note by the UNCTAD Secretariat for Consideration of Ways and Means of Commemorating in 1999 of the Twentieth Anniversary of the Vienna Conference on Science and Technology for Development’.  Economic and Social Council. Commission on Science and Technology for Development.  Third Session. Geneva, 12 May 1997.  E/CN.16/1997/7.  Accessed online at: http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/ecn16_97d7.en.pf 

Rio Declaration: http://www.un-documents.net/rio-dec.htm

Agenda 21 http://www.un-documents.net/agenda21.htm

The Millennium Development Goals http://www.un-documents.net/mdg.htm