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tuesday 25 september
2001
geneva
earth summit - still stuck
at rio?
The Governments of
Europe and North America agreed at a formal
UN meeting in Geneva today [1] that they are
not prepared to go beyond commitments made at
the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Friends of the
Earth International (FoEI) concluded that the
positive elements of a statement crafted by
environment ministers have been overwhelmed
by putting trade priorities above people and
the planet.
Governments failed to agree on the EU's
proposed Global Deal [2], which was the only
substantive new idea at the negotiations.
Instead of moving forward, negotiations
focused on issues such as the long-standing
commitment by Governments to increase
development aid to 0.7% of GDP, the
precautionary principle and targets for
renewable energy, all of which were not
agreed.
On the other hand, the statement exposes a
corporate libertarian stance from the
Governments, which want the Summit to
"support" the current international trading
system. This reduced the credibility of
positive themes the region wants discussed at
Johannesburg, such as poverty, and improving
democratic processes.
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI)
wants to see the governments of the ECE
region honestly assess why unsustainable
development continues and develop a new set
of actions to turn the tide of social and
environmental degradation. FoEI believes
governments should use the Johannesburg
meeting to establish rules of corporate
accountability, environmental rights, a just
trade system, effective environmental
governance and agree action by over-
consuming countries on their ecological debt
to the South.
Daniel Mittler of FoEI said:
"There's a real danger that Rio Plus Ten
will actually be Rio Plus Zero. Some
governments and the EU have made a welcome
commitment to targets and actions, but the
final Ministerial statement is short on the
kinds of responsibility this powerful and
wealthy region should be demonstrating. Nine
years of continued unsustainable development
are more than enough. It is time to move
beyond Rio and deliver timetables and
targets."
Contact in Geneva:
Daniel Mittler or Matt Phillips on +49 173
923 4747
Notes:
[1] Formal preparations for the World Summit
on Sustainable Development (also known as Rio
+ 10) are now under way and Ministers from
Europe and the US today agreed a Ministerial
statement of what they aim to achieve at the
Summit. The meeting is the main input from
the UN ECE region (which includes the whole
of Europe and North America) and it indicates
what the main parties want from the
Summit.
[2]The Global Deal includes debt relief
and market access for developing countries, a
commitment to break the link between economic
growth and environmental degradation,
increased development assistance and
reaffirmation of adherence to the 'Rio
Declaration' and other international
environmental agreements such as the Kyoto
climate protocol.
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