Twenty years ago, the nations of the world rushed to Rio with sunny ambitions and plans to create political momentum for a world-wide green economy, to protect the environment and tackle poverty and inequality. Within weeks, it had all started to unravel. Twenty years later another Rio Summit is set to begin but the Canadians who took part last time return in a different political climate. Today, we look at what they hoped for and what we’ve got.

That’s where the Rio + 20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development officially opens tomorrow. My next two guests were among Canada’s key players in Rio in 1992. Elizabeth May is now the member of parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands, and the leader of the Green Party of Canada. She was in our Ottawa studio. And David MacDonald served as chair of the parliamentary committee on the Environment as a Progressive Conservative MP under PM Brian Mulroney. He was also the Lead Parliamentary Advisor for the Canadian delegation at the 1992 Earth Summit. He was in our Toronto studio.

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