Richard's Blog - June 2012

Reflections on Rio+20

Having had time to reflect on Rio+20, it could be seen as a disappointment due to the shameful lack of government commitment. Governments could have done a lot of good in Rio making their companies money while cleaning up the planet and business practices – at no cost to them. They could have got rid of fossil fuels subsidies, which would give clean technology the massive boost it needs and save their countries money. They could have agreed to protect the open seas and police the open seas…

Stop the drug war to fight AIDS

The war on drugs is a failure and immediate, major reforms of the global drug prohibition regime are needed to halt the spread of HIV infection and other drug war harms. Today we launched a new Global Commission on Drug Policy report with a livestreamed conference from London, calling for drug decriminalisation and and expansion of proven, cost-effective solutions to reduce HIV/AIDS. I became a commissioner with the Global Commission on Drug Policy because it was a rare opportunity to do …

Back from the brink

By no means everything went the way we all wished in Rio, as far as the High Seas and the oceans are concerned.But with enough determination we will get there. It is worth remembering that the whales were in peril 20 years ago but in the end the world community did what was right and whale numbers are now rapidly increasing. The turtles were once in peril and once again they are now generally being protected and their numbers are increasing.However, there are still masses to do with the wholesal…

Protecting the tiger

Animal conservation has always been an issue close to my heart, and there are few animals that stir the emotions as much as the beautiful tiger. Last year I visited India with WildAid and Virgin Unite in search of the tigers, to discover more about how we can help protect them. Right now in India, WildAid's Rapid Response Unit is doing amazing work reaching tigers in distress and protecting them from poachers.Nevertheles, the very survival of wild tigers is in peril due to poaching, illegal wil…

Democracy in Egypt

The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Mursi has been declared the winner of Egypt's election. It is fantastic news that, although the election run-off has had its problems, the country is striving for democracy. Whatever the outcome of the election, it is better than it was before in Egypt. Although the military have kept powers, they are going to have to give them up. The generals have vowed to hand over power to the new president by June 30th - let's hope that happens. There definitely needs to…

Some sense at last in the war on drugs

At last. Some sense is beginning to prevail in the war on drugs. The President of Uruguay has called for legal regulation of marijuana in his country. Uruguay would be the first country in the world to legally supply marijuana, and the revenue generated from this would be used to fund treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts. The Global Commission on Drug Policy had asked countries to experiment with different approaches to win the war on drugs, so we welcome the bold approach taken by Urugu…

Spot me now!

OK, the 'can you spot me' earlier today was quite easy. But can you spot me now? Have a great weekend everyone!

Coral Sea success

The OceanElders and many others have been working hard at Rio+20 to make sure our leaders introduce laws to protect the oceans. One such example is the new campaign to save the Arctic.Another is our efforts to help protect the Coral Sea. We (with many others) lobbied the Prime Minister of Australia to protect the Sea and conserve its incredible marine life that is found nowhere else in the world. Australia has now committed to creating the world’s largest system of marine protected areas i…

Can you spot me?!

At the Rio+20 convention centre. Can you spot me?! In Spanish: En el centro de convenciones de Río+20. ¿¡Puedes encontrarme!? In Portuguese: No Centro de Convenções da Conferência Rio+20. Consegue me identificar?!

Save The Arctic

The Arctic is one of the most spectacular places in the world, and it is under assault. Speaking in Rio today, we have launched a campaign for a ban on oil drilling and unsustainable fishing in Arctic waters.As an airline owner one could argue I would benefit from more oil, and one could argue the more oil the better. But we must move to a clean energy economy as soon as possible. We are going to run out of oil soon anyway. Therefore the sooner we move to clean fuel economy the better. If we wa…

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