Humanity has been on a centuries-long quest for a world in which prosperity is shared, progress leaves no one behind, and wars and armed conflicts are unimaginable. Yet, it was not until the last third of the 20th century that this ambition started to be given shape through consultations in intergovernmental forums, discussing economic growth, human development, and environmental protection together. The UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972 was the first to address virtually all aspects of natural resources use, and to emphasize the threat to the environment posed by economic growth with resulting industrial pollution. The developing countries argued that poverty is a greater threat to both human welfare and the environment, and that economic growth in their case was not the problem, but the solution. The need for poverty alleviation for protecting the environment was thus broadly recognized. However, discussions at the Stockholm Conference still polarized the objectives of economic growth and environmental protection, which dominated the debate between rich and poor countries, and between interest groups within countries.