By: Mike Hosking | Monday, June 25, 2012 7:50 AM

You could really only be disappointed in the outcome of the earth summit if you were foolish enough to hope they were going to achieve anything.

It delivered what it was always going to deliver – nothing. The critical mistake they make is over buy in - there isn’t any or at least what there is isn’t enough to get momentum. The world, in case they haven’t noticed, is a weary one at the moment. To sell something you first need to convince people that the cause is real and it’s debateable when it comes to things like climate change and alternative fuels and the earth’s resources. Whether people are truly convinced that Armageddon looms, and then even if you get enough people over the line on the concept, you then have to motivate them enough to actually want to do something about it and to do that they need the energy and time.

In a weary world we don’t have it. The world economy is weighing people down right now. Whether you’re mired in it like Greece or worried about its effects like us, we are preoccupied with it. The global conversation is about money, banking, borrowing, growth, jobs and contagion. Saving the planet has taken a backseat. It’s not unlike places like Syria. If we hadn’t spent months in Libya or years in Afghanistan and Iraq, we might have armed some rebels and run Assad out of town. But we’re tired, we’re worn down by war so we don't do anything.

The earth summit was the same. 20 years ago when we started talking about fossil fuels and global warming and the Kyoto Protocol, we were at least interested and some even engaged enough to do something. But those were the golden days of the debate and even then nothing much happened. The targets they set on population, poverty, food generation, pollution, none of them have been met.

So if they were realistic they wouldn't have gathered because gathering to achieve nothing undermines your cause. It’s bad for your reputation, it damages you for next time. In these debates timing is everything. Success in these matters comes out of momentum and the tide has gone out. They’re not exactly flogging a dead horse but it’s not well and it’s certainly not that interested.

Rio looks to tackle lofty ideals which is fine, but jobs, survival and paying the bills, the real world is going to trump that every time.

What did you think about the Rio+20 Summit? Was it a waste of time? Leave a comment below...

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