The Development Co-operation Report 2012 comes at a critical moment for the planet. 2012 was the year that world leaders, along with thousands of participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, came together in Rio de Janeiro to shape how we can reduce poverty, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection. Twenty years after the 1992 Earth Summit, the Rio +20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development renewed the urgency of addressing pressing economic and environmental challenges – moving towards greener growth, and helping advance countries’ common aspirations towards sustainable development and poverty reduction. The DAC statistics clearly show the increasing trend of environment- related aid – including for climate change, biodiversity and desertification.