What you can do to make Rio+20 Earth Summit matter? In the UK, we're seeing symptoms of this crisis as key species such as bees go into rapid decline - threatening our food supply - energy bills soar due to spiralling gas prices, and communities across the country face the impacts of floods and droughts. As world leaders focus on global economic problems, inequality between the haves and the have-nots increases. The wealthiest 10 per cent of the world's population live in increasing material comfort, while a billion people don't have access to nutritious food. There's been a good deal of cynicism around the effectiveness of UN talks to solve these problems. One reason for this is that world leaders drag their feet, waiting to see who'll act first before implementing agreed promises. This damages trust in the UN process. This Rio summit is unlikely to solve the crisis we face - but it could be an important step towards a new framework intended to do so. And if international summits are to be more than mere talking shops, developed countries such as the UK must take the lead in turning rhetoric into reality. Friends of the Earth believes the UK has a crucial part to play in helping rebuild faith in UN negotiations. As the world's sixth largest economy, a member of the EU, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and a member of the Commonwealth, we have the potential to lead by example. By changing its game at home, such as championing clean British energy from the wind, waves and sun and saving the bees that provide our food, the UK Government can show it's serious about protecting our world and play a more meaningful role in future UN talks. It could ditch old-fashioned economic thinking that sees it handing huge subsidies to oil and gas companies, in favour of a new economic model that puts the long-term safety and prosperity of people and planet above short-term economic gain. And we could see sustainable development at the heart of Government policy-making, from how we plan our towns to the way we farm and feed ourselves Two years ago David Cameron and Nick Clegg talked about leading the "greenest Government ever." Now they should prove there's substance behind the spin by seizing the opportunity of Rio+20 to show green leadership at home.