Stockholm and the Birth of Environmental Diplomacy

The 1972 Stockholm Conference marked the first UN event focused on the environment, establishing the Stockholm Declaration and the Stockholm Action Plan. It bridged the gap between developed and developing nations' priorities, paving the way for the concept of sustainable development and the creation of UNEP in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference also pioneered civil society participation in UN processes and catalyzed the creation of several global environmental treaties.

• The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm was a landmark event as the first UN conference to include "environment" in its title and the first to support the participation of civil society, with 250 non-governmental organizations attending.
• The conference produced the Stockholm Declaration, which established the first global set of principles for international environmental cooperation and influenced subsequent frameworks like the 1992 Rio Declaration. Key principles included intergenerational obligations, the concept of "additionality" in development assistance, and the sovereign right of states to exploit their own resources provided they do not damage other states' environments.
• The event led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which serves as a focal point for knowledge acquisition, environmental quality management, and international supporting actions. After competition between India and Kenya, the secretariat was established in Nairobi, Kenya, making it the first UN body located outside the industrialized world.
• The conference addressed the tension between the industrialized North and the developing South, specifically the fear that environmental protections would be used to restrict economic development. This dialogue, supported by the Founex Report, helped introduce the conceptual foundations of sustainable development to reconcile economic growth with environmental management.
• Beyond the immediate declarations, the Stockholm process catalyzed several global treaties and initiatives, including the London Convention (1972), the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL, 1973), the World Heritage Convention, and the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

APA

Chasek, P. (2020). Stockholm and the Birth of Environmental Diplomacy. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-09/still-one-earth-stockholm-diplomacy_0.pdf

Chicago

Chasek, Pamela. Stockholm and the Birth of Environmental Diplomacy. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2020. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-09/still-one-earth-stockholm-diplomacy_0.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chasek |first1=Pamela |title=Stockholm and the Birth of Environmental Diplomacy |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=September 2020 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-09/still-one-earth-stockholm-diplomacy_0.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chasek2020stockholm, author = {Chasek, Pamela}, title = {{Stockholm and the Birth of Environmental Diplomacy}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-09/still-one-earth-stockholm-diplomacy_0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }