As delegates ended the three-day Rio+20 summit with a 53-page statement called `` The Future We Want , '' activists slammed the U.N. conference on sustainable development as a `` failure of epic proportions . '' U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the document as a `` firm foundation for social , economic and environmental well-being . '' `` Rio+20 has affirmed fundamental principles -- renewed essential commitments -- and given us new direction , '' Ban said in a statement . Five cities fighting for climate survival . But the conservation group Greenpeace said the summit , formally known as the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development , was `` over before it started . '' `` One by one , the few proposed commitments and targets were deleted , '' Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo said in a statement . `` Rio+20 has been a failure of epic proportions , '' Naidoo added . `` The only outcome of this summit is justifiable anger , an anger that we must turn into action . '' Aid group Oxfam also slammed the once-in-a-decade event as a failure . `` Rio will go down as the hoax summit , '' Oxfam chief executive Barbara Stocking said . `` We elect governments to tackle the issues that we ca n't tackle alone . But they are not providing the leadership the world desperately needs . '' `` Paralysed by inertia and in hock to vested interests , too many are unable to join up the dots and solve the connected crises of environment , equity and economy , '' her statement added . Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard defended the summit Saturday , saying she understood why many people were dissatisfied with the outcome , but stressed there had been progress . `` I do understand that there are people who will look at aspects of what has been resolved here and feel some sense that it 's not enough , but we should n't forget where progress has been made , '' she said . `` I think agreeing to sustainable development goals is progress , '' Gillard added . About 100 heads of state and government were among roughly 40,000 delegates who attended the meeting , which the U.N. called an `` historic opportunity to define pathways to a safer , more equitable , cleaner , greener and more prosperous world for all . '' It came 20 years after the Earth Summit in Rio which adopted Agenda 21 , an action plan for sustainable development in the 21st century . During the meeting , the U.N. said some $ 513 billion had been committed to a number of issues including energy , food security , access to drinking water and ocean management . Pledges made during the summit include a 100-million tree planting program , plans to lift African women out of poverty through green economy businesses , and a commitment to recycle 800,000 tons of PVC each year , the United Nations said . On Thursday , Ban launched a `` Zero Hunger Challenge , '' an initiative backed by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization , the International Fund for Agricultural Development ( IFAD ) , the World Food Programme ( WFP ) , the U.N. Children 's Fund ( UNICEF ) , the World Bank and Bioversity International . The U.N. described it as a `` personal challenge '' to everyone worldwide to work together to end hunger . The `` challenge '' has five main goals , including `` 100 % '' access to adequate food all year around , ending malnutrition in pregnancy and early childhood , making all food systems sustainable , increasing productivity and income on family farms and eradicating all food waste . The initiative earned praise from the head of Oxfam , which called it a `` welcome ray of hope . ''
Campaigners call Rio+20 summit a `` hoax '' and a `` failure of epic proportions '' The Thursday meeting ended with an agreement on the document ` `` The Future We Want U.N. Secretary-General Rio+20 says Rio+20 `` affirmed fundamental principles '' some $ 513 billion has been committed to a number of causes , U.N. says .