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

The report analyzes the failures of 'first wave' environmentalism surrounding the 1987 Bruntland Report and the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to provide lessons for 'second wave' environmentalism in 2012. It evaluates the High Level Panel on Global Sustainability's efforts to address these errors through a focus on relative urgency, a narrative on green growth, and engagement with mainstream economic planning.

• The 'first wave' of environmentalism failed because it could not establish the relative urgency of natural resource catastrophes compared to immediate economic crises of the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as debt crises in Argentina and Mexico, and famine in South Sudan.
• Agenda 21, the action programme from the 1992 Rio Conference, lacked a convincing narrative on economic growth, mentioning the word only 46 times across nearly 300 pages and offering only bland policies on 'sound economic policies'.
• Early environmental efforts were hindered by being treated as the domain of environmental ministers and specialist institutes rather than being integrated into mainstream economic development planning and generalist institutes.
• The High Level Panel on Global Sustainability addresses the issue of urgency by highlighting planetary boundaries and tipping points, noting that by 2030, the world will require 50% more food, 45% more energy, and 30% more water.
• The High Level Panel provides a framework for a sustainable economy through 56 recommendations, including the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies by 2020 and the establishment of carbon pricing and other externality pricing instruments by 2020.
• The High Level Panel recommends an 'ever-green revolution' in agriculture for the 21st century, aiming to at least double productivity while drastically reducing resource use and avoiding biodiversity and topsoil loss.
• The High Level Panel suggests that governments should ensure universal access to affordable sustainable energy by 2030 and double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
• The author notes that the 'zero draft' of the Rio+20 outcome document remains largely aspirational and lacks substance, particularly in its 19-paragraph 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. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Sustainable-development_Maxwell1.pdf

Chicago

Maxwell, Simon. Will second wave environmentalism learn from the errors of the first wave? Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2012. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Sustainable-development_Maxwell1.pdf.

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=17 February 2012 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Sustainable-development_Maxwell1.pdf |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 = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Sustainable-development_Maxwell1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }