The Earth Charter was launched in the year 2000 by the independent Earth Charter Commission, which was convened as a follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit in order to produce a global consensus statement of values and principles for a sustainable future. The document was developed over nearly a decade through an extensive process of international consultation, to which over five thousand people contributed. In its concluding words, the Earth Charter states: 'Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace and the joyful celebration of life.'
"There is no better nor more profound statement of the ethos of Albert Schweitzer’s philosophy, expressed in terms relevant to the challenges of our time, than the text of the Earth Charter. It bridges all ethnicities and religious beliefs. It is full of hope in that it holds out the possibility that ethical governance is not so far out of reach as many might think."
Percy Mark