The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs' Division for Sustainable Development monitors and evaluates progress, nation by nation, towards the adoption of Agenda 21, and makes these reports available to the public on its website. The Rio+10 report identified over 6400 local governments in 113 countries worldwide that were engaged in Local Agenda 21 (LA21) activities, a more than three-fold increase over less than five years. 80% = 5120 of these local governments, were located in Europe. A significant increase has been noted in the number of countries in which one or more LA21 processes were underway.
Australia Australia is a signatory to Agenda 21 and 88 of its municipalities subscribe to
ICLEI, an organization that promotes Agenda 21 globally. Australia's membership is second only to that of the United States.
Africa In Africa, national support for Agenda 21 is strong and most countries are signatories. But support is often closely tied to environmental challenges specific to each country; for example, in 2002
Sam Nujoma, who was then President of Namibia, spoke about the importance of adhering to Agenda 21 at the 2002 Earth Summit, noting that as a
semi-arid country, Namibia sets a lot of store in the
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Furthermore, there is little mention of Agenda 21 at the local level in indigenous media. Only major municipalities in
sub-Saharan African countries are members of ICLEI. Agenda 21 participation in North African countries mirrors that of Middle Eastern countries, with most countries being signatories but little to no adoption on the local-government level. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa generally have poorly documented Agenda 21 status reports. By contrast, South Africa's participation in Agenda 21 mirrors that of modern Europe, with 21 city members of ICLEI and support of Agenda 21 by national-level government.
North America United States The national focal point in the United States is the Division Chief for Sustainable Development and Multilateral Affairs, Office of Environmental Policy,
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State. A June 2012 poll of 1,300 United States voters by the
American Planning Association found that 9% supported Agenda 21, 6% opposed it, and 85% thought they didn't have enough information to form an opinion. and in the same year Representatives
Nancy Pelosi,
Eliot Engel and
William Broomfield spoke in support of
United States House of Representatives Concurrent Resolution 353, supporting implementation of Agenda 21 in the United States. Created by Executive Order 12852 in 1993, the President's Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) is explicitly charged with recommending a national action plan for sustainable development to the President. The PCSD is composed of leaders from government and industry, as well as from environmental, labor and civil rights organizations. The PCSD submitted its report, "Sustainable America: A New Consensus", to the President in early 1996. In the absence of a multi-sectoral consensus on how to achieve sustainable development in the United States, the PCSD was conceived to formulate recommendations for the implementation of Agenda 21. Executive Order 12852 was revoked by Executive Order 13138 in 1999. The PCSD set 10 common goals to support the Agenda 21 movement: • Health and the environment • Economic Prosperity • Equity • Conservation of nature • Stewardship • Sustainable communities • Civic engagement • Population • International responsibility • Education. In the United States, over 528 cities are members of
ICLEI, an international sustainability organization that helps to implement the Agenda 21 and Local Agenda 21 concepts across the world. The United States has nearly half of the ICLEI's global membership of 1,200 cities promoting sustainable development at a local level. In response to the opposition, Don Knapp, U.S. spokesman for the ICLEI, has said "Sustainable development is not a top-down conspiracy from the U.N., but a bottom-up push from local governments". Most such bills failed, "either dying in committee, getting defeated on the statehouse floor or – in the case of
Missouri's 2013 bill – getting vetoed by the governor." In Arizona, a similarly sweeping bill was introduced in the
Arizona State Legislature seeking to mandate that the state could not "adopt or implement the creed, doctrine, or principles or any tenet" of Agenda 21 and to prohibit the state "implementing programs of, expending any sum of money for, being a member of, receiving funding from, contracting services from, or giving financial or other forms of aid to" an array of sustainability organizations.
Conspiracy theories The right-wing
John Birch Society described Agenda 21 as a plot, disguised as an environmental movement, to end individual freedom and establish a
one-world government. Activists believed that the non-binding UN resolution was "the linchpin in a plot to subjugate humanity under an eco-totalitarian regime."
Glenn Beck warned that Agenda 21 was a "seditious" conspiracy to cut the world population by 85%.
Europe The Rio+10 report Many, such as the
London Borough of Enfield, employed Agenda 21 officers to promote the programme. Sweden reported that 100% of the municipalities had adopted LA21 by 2002. France, whose national government, along with 14 cities, is a signatory, promotes nationwide programs in support of the goals of Agenda 21. Baltic nations formed the
Baltic 21 coalition as a regional expression of Agenda 21. == See also ==