Preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development later this summer are in disarray. Pre-summit negotiations last week in Bali failed to break the deadlock between rich and poor nations over how to reconcile the conflicting goals of promoting global trade, cutting poverty and protecting the environment. “We came to Bali to seek concrete agreement, with timetables and targets that could save human lives and eradicate poverty. We have not achieved that,” said Spanish environment minister Jaume Matas. The summit, billed as the largest ever intergovernmental gathering, will take place in Johannesburg in August.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
2
Remote-controlled cockroach swarm can now breathe underwater
3
If you aren't terrified by this heatwave, you should be
4
Our verdict on The Selfish Gene: An unpopular piece of popular science
5
Ancient human DNA found on cave art for the first time
6
We鈥檝e uncovered a master gene that switches on human development
7
The race to understand how and when Thwaites glacier will collapse
8
You should turn off fans when it's too hot 鈥 but how hot is too hot?
9
I have a 100 per cent chance of getting cancer due to a rare gene
10
The best sci-fi novel in 2026 so far 鈥 plus 6 other great reads



