The modern international environmental movement started with the Stockholm Environment Conference convened by the United Nations in 1972, followed by the Earth Summit in Rio de Janiero in 1992. The latter produced three Rio conventions on climate change, biological diversity, and combating desertification, as well as Agenda 21 (a non-binding action plan of the United Nations for achieving sustainable development). More recent policies inlcude the Paris Climate Agreement which, while not enough to solve these issues, represents the first time that all the nations on the planet agreed to some common goals. Development banks like the Inter-American Development Bank are also focused on sustainability. None of these is enough or going fast enough, but they are hopeful signs.

This video is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA license.