The Stream, June 18: What’s the Potential of Green Accounting?

Can putting a monetary value on natural resources reign in unfettered development? The Associated Press reports on the complex evolution of green accounting.

Expectations are running low days before the Rio+20 global summit on sustainable development, The Wall Street Journal says, but can a different approach focused on “bottom up” efforts, local solutions and smaller goals help gain momentum?

Meanwhile, the conference’s Brazilian host government has just released a new draft negotiating text for the meeting that confirms many previous commitments but weakens pledges on boosting access to water and energy, according to the BBC.

China is ploughing ahead with the construction work on a low-carbon eco-city near the capital Beijing, AFP reported. Though the project is being touted as a model for sustainable living, there are concerns that it could follow in the footsteps of the failed plans for an “eco-city” on an island off Shanghai. Eco-city projects are on the rise throughout China, where developers are rushing to cash in on the country’s green movement.

The European Union will impose fines on Northern Ireland if the country fails to invest in cleaning up its waterways, Belfast Telegraph reported. Fewer than a third of Northern Ireland’s water bodies are of good ecological status, according to official reports.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.