Question

What is the name of the action plan for sustainable development in the Twenty-first century framed in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992)?
A. Action 21
B. Agenda 21
C. Rio 21
D. Declaration 21

Answer 1

Hint: The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development was formed in Rio de Janeiro in June, 1992. It was in a conference of the United Nations known as the Earth Summit. The summit was held to discuss issues relating to sustainability. As an outcome of the summit, various declarations and agendas were signed.

Complete answer:
An earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro on June 3- 14, 1992. The member states of the United Nations discussed issues pertaining to sustainable development. Since, sustainable development is difficult to handle by a single state, the summit acted as a platform for collaborative effort.
The main points of discussion in the Earth summit were as follows:

-The production of toxic components like lead, and radioactive wastes will be minutely scrutinized.
-Use of renewable sources of energy in place of fossil fuels. This is because the fossil fuels were linked to global climate change.
-Issues related to water supply.
-Increased usage on public transport in order to reduce emissions from vehicles and congestion in cities. Reduction in vehicle emission is related to air pollution.

The Earth Summit resulted in the formation of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development which laid out principles to guide the countries of the world on sustainable development. The Declaration was signed by 175 countries.
Agenda 21 is the action-plan to be executed at local and global levels with regard to sustainable development. It is non-binding in nature. The member states of the conference hoped to achieve their goals by the end of the twenty first century, hence the name Agenda 21.
Since 1992, the Agenda 21 has been reformed quite a few times. At present, as per the last reformation, the timeline has been revised to 2030.
Hence, it can be concluded that Agenda 21 is the action plan for sustainable development in the Twenty-first century framed in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992).

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Note: The Earth Summit was a conference for discussing issues of sustainable development by the United Nations. It was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. The objectives were to discuss sustainable development strategies by the participating countries. An action plan called Agenda 21 was developed as a result of the conference.