Rio Not So Grand?

The current Environment Conference in Rio, some 20 years after the initial discussions on sustainable development, appear to be a much depleted version of the initial lofty ambition for restricting climate change etc (http://www.uncsd2012.org/). Most of the 'big player' politicians have gone to concurrent meetings on the current economic crisis. This is understandable, as politicians in democracies crave to be elected and one is unlikely to be re-elected if promising declining living standards and an end to 'economic growth'. The sad fact is that one cannot get improvements in material wealth for all in a world where the total population continues to escalate. People with a meaningful vote are not likely to vote for pauperisation of themselves and their families even if this benefits the countries' finances or makes the banking sector more stable (it's simply not Darwinian).