Rio+20: Race against clock as heads wrangle for overtime
Agence France-Presse
June 16, 2012

RIO DE JANEIRO – Talks on a new global charter to protect the environment and eradicate poverty were heading into overtime Friday as officials admitted they faced a battle to seal a deal ahead of a UN summit.

The cornerstone document of the June 20-22 Rio+20 summit aims at setting a path for nurturing the planet’s natural bounty and promoting green growth.

But after five months of wrangling, talks on a draft entered their final scheduled day on Friday with agreement on only 28 percent of the 81-page text, officials said.

Responsibility for steering the haggle was expected to be handed on Saturday to Brazil, the conference host, said Nikhil Seth of the UN’s Division for Sustainable Development.

“It’s everyone’s hope that by (June) 19 at the latest, everything will be wrapped up,” he said.

“There is a sense of optimism, but in every room there is a sense also that the enemy now is time.”

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