—AFP
U.S. President Barack Obama heads a list of high profile absentees for the Rio sustainable development summit this week where U.N. leaders say some tough decisions will have to be taken for the future of the planet.
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and China’s President Hu Jintao will also go to the Group of 20 rich nations’ summit in Mexico but then head straight home before the Rio de Janeiro event starts on Wednesday.
The U.S. presidential election, the debt crisis across Europe and China’s looming leadership transition have all weighed heavily on acceptances to the Rio summit that will seek to set some ground rules for global growth that helps the poor and does not wreck the environment.
The summit will still be attended by Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Francois Hollande of France, Jacob Zuma of South Africa alongside Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao. Tempering the voracious consumer appetite of rich nations, saving oceans and mountains, how to measure human development alongside economic prosperity will all be debated.