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Youth delegates from around the world have wrapped up a gathering in Bandung to demand a greater commitment to sustainable development and environmental conservation from global leaders.

The United Nations Environment Program’s Tunza International Children and Youth Conference, held from Tuesday to Sunday, concluded with a statement asking governments to make significant progress at next year’s Rio+20 environmental summit in Rio de Janeiro.

“The trends and science tell us that we cannot wait another generation [until a Rio+40] before we act — the Green Economy is our only future,” the Bandung Declaration stated.

The delegates defined green economy as “the only integrated framework that is truly sustainable, placing human well-being, social equity and environmental protection on equal footing.”

“As children, we can plant trees, clean rivers and beaches, but we cannot stop industries from polluting our rivers, we cannot force them to adopt green economy,” said Adeline Tiffanie Suwana, a 14-year-old Indonesian delegate. “We want policies and laws that will make industries sustainable.”

Achim Steiner, the UNEP executive director and a UN undersecretary general, praised the 1,200 youth delegates for speaking “with passion and eloquence here in Bandung.”

“Their positive vision, extraordinary energy and creative solutions must be part of the dialogue on the road to the Rio+20 Conference next year,” he said.

“Too many of our youth feel a sense of powerlessness and frustration with the ‘way things are.’ Leaders should listen more carefully and attentively to them and ensure that their willingness to become involved is supported.

“Not only do young people have ideals, solutions and energy, but they are often free from some of the finger-pointing, political gamesmanship and vested interests of the past that can hijack a fresh future.”

The delegates said in their declaration that the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, to which the Rio+20 conference refers and at which several landmark agreements from climate change to the loss of biodiversity were agreed on, was “transformative.”

But they added that the warning signs now being debated were a reality, and urged governments to move swiftly and decisively toward developing national green economy transition plans.

Gusti Muhammad Hatta, the Indonesian environment minister, said the Bandung Declaration “articulates in specific terms the policies and actions that young people of the world believe should be at the heart of the Rio+20 agenda.”

“We are pleased Indonesia hosted this important event, and I hope we succeed in carrying the message of future generations to world leaders,” he said.

The declaration will be submitted by UNEP and the Indonesian government to the Rio+20 Conference, to be next June.