Final document is being touted as victory for developing world, as it reiterates principle of common but differentiated responsibilities

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, came to an end last week. The conference declaration, entitled “The Future We Want”, is a weak and meaningless document. It aims at the lowest common denominator consensus, to say nothing consequential about how the world will move ahead to deal with the interlinked crises of economy and ecology. The question arises: is this the future we want or the future we dread?