Brazil

America, Rising Powers, and the Tension between Rivalry and Restraint

"What’s become clear to me is that while the rising powers--principally China, India, Brazil, but also Turkey, Indonesia, Korea and others--want to increase their influence and protect their interests, the United States still occupies a central place in their thinking and their strategies. And only the U.S. can help all these players forge an effective international order." —Bruce Jones

The Rio+20 Summit will mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, and although many gains have been achieved over the past two decades, the climate change agenda continues to move at a glacial pace while at the same time climate risks are increasing. There is an urgent need to reenergize international will for meaningful progress in addressing climate change, achieving sustainable growth and development, and protecting the environment.

Debate on the successor to the Millennium Development Goals has now begun in earnest. The UN Secretary General has made the agreement of new goals a centerpiece of his second term, promising to "forge consensus around a post-2015 sustainable development framework and implement it."  This paper provides an overview of the MDGs and their expected status in 2015; describes the background to , and options for, a post-2015 framework; discusses the political challenges of agreeing a new framework; and sets out considerations for governments and other stakeholders.