"The solar panel made a big difference. I no longer have to buy paraffin which is expensive", Rhoda Khumalo, Zimbabwe (photo © Macpherson Photography/Progressio)
At the Rio+20 Summit, governments agreed in principle to a set of universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that would come into play in 2016. The summit’s outcome document The Future We Want resolved to establish a transparent and inclusive process to develop the SDGs, mandating an inter-governmental Open Working Group (OWG) that would ‘consult with all relevant stakeholders’. The OWG has been slow to get off the ground but is now expected to present a proposal on the SDGs to the UN General Assembly in September 2014. A total of 69 countries are sharing 30 seats, which includes the UK and Zimbabwe. The group is co-chaired by Ireland and South Africa.
