UNCED saw the largest ever gathering of heads of government in history. Ceremony, glitter and pomp were played out against a backdrop of demonstrations, haggling and scandal. The Down to Earth team, which witnessed the entire pageant, records its impressions

EVERY time an American family decides to take its car out, the resulting carbon dioxide adds to the existing stock in the atmosphere for at least a hundred years. When the polar cap cannot bear the trapped heat, it will melt and drown the distant country of Maldives or Bangladesh. Every time somebody in the United Kingdom decides to use a fire extinguisher with halons, it is the Australians and the Chileans who are likely to feel the impact of the ozone hole.

Roli Mahajan, Date: June 14, 2012

Over 50,000 people representing a cross section of society, from environmental activists to corporate representatives and from civilians to government delegates, are expected attend the UN summit on sustainable development at Rio this year.

Betwa Sharma; Date: June 11, 2012

Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication are the two themes of the summit, but consensus eludes on both fronts, writes Betwa Sharma from New York