Responsible economic action - sustainable development: new ways forward for national economies?

With the impacts of climate change now being felt around the world and resources becoming increasingly scarce, the need for a viable economic and social model for the future is more pressing than ever. Aligning national economies with eco-friendly production, trade and consumption patterns is the basis for sustainable growth and therefore also the focus of the 2012 UN Earth Summit Rio+20. Under the banner ‘Green Economy’, the summit aims to explore the potential of this development trend for reducing poverty and promoting and securing long-term prosperity around the globe.

How can resource efficiency and environmental and climate protection be synchronised with economic growth? What will it take to broker out solutions to the conflicts of interest between the North and South as well as between global committees, individual states and peoples?
What kind of innovations and technologies are needed to secure standards of living without destroying the natural resources that sustain them? Under the title, ‘Responsible economic action – sustainable development: New ways forward for national economies?’‚ we want to debate the opportunities and challenges inherent in a structural shift towards a more sustainable economy.

The 14th Eschborn Dialogue is scheduled for 21 - 22 June 2011.We would like to invite you to discuss these issues from the perspective of international cooperation and share your ideas and experiences with other participants from the fields of politics, business and industry and civil society.