Encouraging private sector contribution and strengthening accountability to deliver on the Rio Trio’s shared goals

In 1992, the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro led to the creation of three landmark multilateral environmental agreements – the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Together, these conventions form the backbone of our current global environmental governance.

While led by Member States, addressing the scale of climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation demands ambitious action from all stakeholders – especially multinational corporations and financial institutions that heavily influence emissions, land use and ecosystem degradation.

This analysis compares how the three Rio Conventions structure private sector engagement and accountability. It introduces a three-tiered framework – participation, responsibility and monitoring – to assess the depth of corporate engagement. The analysis shows that, although each convention has made progress, approaches remain fragmented and rely largely on voluntary engagement, informal mechanisms.

The document argues for greater institutional coherence to engaging the private sector engagement across the conventions. Clear, coordinated engagement is essential to embed accountability into global environmental governance and to unlock the transformative potential of businesses and financial institutions for climate, land, and nature.