The upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development in June, 2012, also known as Rio+20, is a challenge and an opportunity for the world?s leaders to confront the economic, ecological and social crises gripping the world today. However, many civil society groups and even some governments express concern that the chosen major themes of the 2012 UNCSD?the ?Green Economy inthe Context of Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication? and the ?Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development? ? do not adequately or holistically address the social, economic and ecological dimensions of sustainable development. Indeed, there is a lot of attention being directed towards the Green Economy in particular, raising fears that it may become the new framework for sustainable development in place of the long-recognized three pillars. This Ibon Policy Brief takes a critical look at the concept of a Green Economy and shows how it is likely to fall short of advancing economic, ecological and social sustainability.

This policy brief may interest sustainable development practitioners because of its critical reflection on the Rio+20 process. We expect that this will be a useful reference for policy makers, leaders and members of civil society organizations and other development actors who are interested to engage in the Rio+20.