Health as a measure of Sustainable Energy at Rio+20 - A way to get your voice heard

[Heather Adair-Rohani]

As many of you may know, Rio +20 is fast approaching and we need your help to voice the recommendations that will make health a part of the discussions at Rio +20. Currently, there is an online discussion forum where people can submit and vote on articles related to the sustainable development discussions at Rio +20. The online platform has entered its second phase and will go on until Jun. 3, 2012.  The top 10 article recommendations that get the most votes will then be voted on by the general public. After the public has voted, the facilitators will organize and present top articles to the panelists in the Sustainable Development Dialogues during Rio + 20. The top three articles in each theme (which includes energy) will be conveyed directly to Heads of State gathering in the High-Level Segment of Rio +20. Thus we need you to vote BEFORE Jun. 3 (current situation) and AFTER Jun. 3 (when it goes public).

 

One of the articles, specifically, Power and Potential: Sustainable Energy and Health relates specifically to using data collected on clean fuels and technologies in the household and health care settings within developing countries as a means to contribute to Sustainable Development. Clearly, this article is crucial since this is a backdoor way to get health, energy access to electricity, clean fuels and technologies in developing countries into the Sustainable Energy discussions at Rio + 20.

 

What you need to know:

1.      We need votes before Jun. 3, 2012! You will have to sign up for an account and vote (see instructions below).

2.      The articles you are voting on will be discussed at Rio +20 if they are the most popular, thus voting is crucial.

3.4.      It does not take too long to vote (~ 2 minutes).

1.      Go to www.riodialogues.org. Enter your email in the “Request Invite” section of the page and enter the code below.

2.      Immediately check your email and follow the link given.

3.      Once you have clicked the link you received in your confirmation email, you will be prompted to make a password.

4.      After the password, you will be given a new screen from which you must enter your name, organization, and location.

5.      Once you have done this, you will be sent to a new screen page. On the top of this screen page will be a search box that says “Search teamworks”. In this box, type #health and SD (this will be the tag for the energy  and health discussions. We would greatly appreciate if you vote for the summary document titled Power Potential: Sustainable Energy and Health.

6.      To vote, click “support” or “recommend” in the box on the top right of the article.

 

We all need to work together to make health a discussion at Rio +20. It is imperative that we vote and support this movement. We will update you as more articles go up for the targeted sectors. Also, they can be edited so if you have any suggestions, please send them over.