Will second wave environmentalism learn from the errors of the first wave?

The author identifies three failures of 'first wave' environmentalism: a failure to establish the relative urgency of environmental crises compared to immediate economic crises, the lack of a convincing narrative on growth in Agenda 21, and the tendency for environmental agendas to be managed by environmental ministers rather than economic development ministers. While the author praises the UN Secretary General's High Level Panel report for addressing these issues through recommendations on fiscal policy and a sustainable economy, he warns that the 'zero draft' of the Rio+20 outcome document remains largely aspirational and risks falling back into the 'environmental trap'.

• The 'first wave' of environmentalism failed because it could not convey the relative urgency of natural resource catastrophes when compared to the immediate economic crises of the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as debt crises, famine in Africa, and currency crises in Mexico and Argentina.
• Agenda 21, the action programme from the 1992 Rio Conference, lacked a substantive and convincing narrative on economic growth, mentioning the word only 46 times across nearly 300 pages and focusing primarily on fiscal rectitude and the private sector.
• Environmental agendas historically became the domain of environmental ministers and specialist institutes, failing to engage the mainstream of economic development planning and generalist institutes.
• The UN Secretary General's High Level Panel report is viewed as a positive step because it utilizes concepts of planetary boundaries and tipping points to establish urgency and provides 56 recommendations covering taxation, fiscal policy, and private sector partnerships in energy and agriculture.
• The 'zero draft' of the Rio+20 outcome document, published on 10 January, is criticized for being largely aspirational with minimal substance in its chapter on green growth.

APA

Maxwell, S. (2012). Will second wave environmentalism learn from the errors of the first wave? Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/resource/will-second-wave-environmentalism-learn-from-the-errors-of-the-first-wave

Chicago

Maxwell, Simon. Will second wave environmentalism learn from the errors of the first wave? Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2012. https://cdkn.org/resource/will-second-wave-environmentalism-learn-from-the-errors-of-the-first-wave.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Maxwell |first1=Simon |title=Will second wave environmentalism learn from the errors of the first wave? |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=18 February 2012 |url=https://cdkn.org/resource/will-second-wave-environmentalism-learn-from-the-errors-of-the-first-wave |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{maxwell2012will, author = {Maxwell, Simon}, title = {{Will second wave environmentalism learn from the errors of the first wave?}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2012}, month = feb, url = {https://cdkn.org/resource/will-second-wave-environmentalism-learn-from-the-errors-of-the-first-wave}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }