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25 january 2001
davos
campaigners tell business leaders to halt
global economice experiment - "before it's
too late"
On the opening day of the World Economic
Forum annual meeting at the Swiss Alpine
resort of Davos, Friends of the Earth
International said that there should be a
halt to further measures to liberalise the
world economy. The World Economic Forum is a
private organisation for business leaders
that has been at the forefront of proposals
to promote economic globalisation.
Campaingers today said that more
globalisation would threaten the environment
and mainly benefit the already wealthy.
The global environmental federation said
that reforms to free trade rules, the
introduction of tight standards to govern the
activities of transnational corporations and
a reversal to financial liberalisation, must
all precede further discussions about
stimulating growth through economic
deregulation.
Friends of the Earth said that climate
change, destruction of biological diversity,
the decline of natural resources like
fisheries and the widening gap between rich
and poor were all linked to policies to
promote international competitiveness,
increase short term growth in GDP and foreign
direct investment.
Campaigners particularly criticised the
secretive nature of the World Economic Forum
and demanded more openess in discussions that
will repercussions for citizens world
wide.
Tony Juniper, Vice Chair of Friends of the
Earth International, said:
"It is not right that 2000 company chief
executives and the politicians and public
officials that they have invited here should
discuss the direction of the world economy in
secret. The ramifications of proposals that
come from Davos meetings have in the past
been profound and probably will be in the
future too. Protection of the environment and
socially just development are not on the
agenda and won't be until ordinary citizens
have a real voice. We are here to make sure
that the real issues are debated before it is
too late".
Contact:
Tony Juniper Friends of the Earth
International +44 7712 843 207
Miriam Behrens Friends of the Earth
Switzerland +41 79 216 02 06
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