With reference to ‘Agenda 21’, sometimes seen in the news, consider the following: 1. It is a global action plan for sustainable development. 2. It originated in the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Statement 1 is correct. Agenda 21 is a comprehensive global action plan for sustainable development, adopted at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the Earth Summit, at Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It covers poverty, consumption, health, land, oceans, biodiversity and the role of local bodies, and it gave rise to the idea of Local Agenda 21.

Statement 2 is wrong. Agenda 21 did not originate at Johannesburg. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002 reviewed the progress made since Rio, and its outcome was the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. Aspirants often mix up Rio 1992, Kyoto 1997 and Johannesburg 2002.

• Core concept: Agenda 21 is a soft-law, non-binding plan. Its implementation depends on national and local action, which links it to the Environment chapter of the syllabus and to the Mains theme of environmental governance.

Trap: Because Johannesburg 2002 is the more recent and better-known summit, candidates assume it is the origin of Agenda 21 and mark statement 2 as correct.