The UN Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, was the largest gathering of its kind, encompassing governments, international organizations, and both local and international NGOs with interests in environmentally sustainable development. The resultant Agenda 21 document contained several key recommendations and principles of importance to the field of household energy. They fall under the following broad categories:
* Strategies for Environmental Protection
* Recommendations for Target-Group-Related Activities
* Economic Aspects of Energy Policy
* Forest Principles
Household energy programmes, which aim at the more efficient provision and use of energy, often have cross-sectoral benefits that straddle the areas of improvement in the lives of the poor (particularly women and children), health, the economy and the environment.
This document represents the HEDON position on Agenda 21, and examines how household energy programmes fit into the Agenda 21 framework. Chapter numbers refer directly to those of Agenda 21.
