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MAKING GLOBALIZATION SUSTAINABLE?

Rio+10: the Challenge Ahead

Themeless in Johannesburg?
No major themes for the Rio+10 Summit to take place in Johannesburg in September 2002 were agreed upon by the first preparatory meeting held in New York from April 30th to May 2nd. The G-77 countries and China argued that themes should be decided "from the bottom up" through the national and regional discussions that will take place in the coming six months. Given the state of disarray and the lack of openness in many of these regional processes (the European one included), this does not bode well for achieving any kind of dynamism around key themes for the Summit.

The G-77´s concern for "bottom up" initiatives was caricatured by attempts from its midst to block the participation of some NGOs at the Summit. Egypt and China in particular tried to get a veto on which NGOs should be allowed to accredit. This attempt failed, though the decisions adopted (available at www.un.org/rio+10) stressed how little time there will be at the Summit and how contributions from civil society must therefore be kept short.

Concerns were also raised about the geography of the Summit sites presented by the South African government. After a huge opening event in a major stadium, the Summit will be held at three conference centres that are at least 25 kilometers apart. Major stakeholders, including business, which is afraid of losing out on access to the official event, tried to argue that themes should be allocated to the three buildings rather than the sites being divided up between governments, business and NGOs. The South African government noted the concern and will do some further thinking on how the ghettoization of major groups can be prevented.

Although no major themes were formally adopted, all of the governments present talked about similar issues. "Making globalization sustainable" was the phrase that came out of most delegates' mouths - and many stakeholders also used this terminology. Most contributions were vague as to what this would mean in practice and, at least among the NGO community, there was therefore a great interest in FoEI´s "Towards Sustainable Economies" paper. It was also clear that no other NGO network will aim to cover the trade agenda in the manner that FoEI does and plans to do in the run up to Rio+10.

Business Elbowing In
Corporate accountability will be another important theme, especially as the first PrepCom confirmed fears that business will use the Summit to present itself as the (only) solution to global problems. German industry, renowned for having backed Apartheid and for its responsibility for excessive cancer rates near car plants in Port Elisabeth, for example, had the audacity to stress their "sustainable historical relationship with South Africa". Best practice exhibitions, some of them with rather vague or dubious definitions of "best", will be a major feature of the Summit.

South Africa also announced that it wants to use elements of an ill-fated exhibition that Canada tried to initiate for the recent Ninth Session of the Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD-9). Completed elements of this exhibition described nuclear power as "sustainable".

Global Environmental Institutions
A third major theme was the future of the institutional architecture for sustainability. Some delegations, especially the US, questioned whether there was any future role for the CSD, using the universal disillusionment after CSD-9 to question the legitimacy of green multilateralism. But the main discussion focused on the future role of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), a debate that seemed to more or less silence any talk of a World Environment Organization (see LINK 96, page 22). There was a surprising amount of unity concerning the need to strengthen UNEP, and strong support for making sure that the institution is better endowed financially.

There was plenty of scope for NGO exchanges in New York as well. FoEI's unique contribution on alternatives to neoliberal globalization, global equity and corporate accountability was acknowledged by many fellow NGO representatives. But it will be a hard task for us as a network to make these issues really count in what is otherwise not yet a very inspiring international discussion on the future of sustainability.

Daniel Mittler, FoEI Rio+10 Coordinator, FoE Germany