WSSD: Groups
Blast Bush for Skipping Upcoming Earth Summit
by Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 19 (IPS) - Non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and environmental activists worldwide
have condemned U.S. President George W. Bush's decision to
skip a landmark U.N. conference on the environment in South
Africa next week.
Over the weekend, the White House announced
that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell will lead the country's
delegation to the World Summit on Sustainable Development
(WSSD) scheduled for Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 26-Sep.4.
Tony Juniper of Friends of the Earth
International (FoEI) said Bush has obviously been pressured
by big business to skip the meeting.
”We have a copy of a letter sent
to Bush by 31 political groups and individuals who demand
that he not attend the Johannesburg Earth Summit and who call
on him to ensure that his negotiators prevent any progress
on climate change,” he said.
The signatories to the letter include
politically conservative groups such as the Competitive Enterprise
Institute, Americans for Tax Reform, Freedom Alliance, American
Enterprise Institute, Americans Against U.N. Control, U.S.
Business and Industry Council and Young Conservatives of Texas,
added Juniper.
”This letter casts a grim light
on the iron triangle of the Bush White House, corporate polluters
such as Exxon Mobil, and conservative lobbyists. They are
determined to block any progress at the Johannesburg summit,”
he said.
A follow-up to the historic 1992 Earth
Summit in Brazil, the meeting in Johannesburg is to be attended
by more than 100 world political leaders, including heads
of state and heads of government.
The London Times reported last week that
Britain is expected to send at least eight ministers and more
than 100 aides. The delegation, led by Prime Minister Tony
Blair, is expected to cost more than 900,000 dollars.
Japan is fielding one of its biggest
delegations, headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. According
to reports from Tokyo, the Japanese delegation, including
members of the media and NGOs, could number as high as 400-500.
Bush's absence from the summit is obviously
a ”slap in the face” to other world leaders, particularly
when the United States is seeking allies in its global war
against terrorism, said Debbie Reed of the National Environmental
Trust. Of the three recent major U.N. conferences, Bush by-passed
two - the World Conference Against Racism in South Africa
last August and the World Food Summit in Rome in June. He
did travel to the Conference on Financing for Development
in Monterrey, Mexico in March.
The letter from the U.S.-based coalition
warns Bush the Johannesburg summit will ”provide a global
media stage for many of the most irresponsible and destructive
elements involved in critical international economic and environmental
issues”.
”Your presence would only help
to publicise and make more credible their various anti-freedom,
anti-people, anti-globalisation, and anti-Western agendas,”
it says.
The groups also say they strongly support
Bush's opposition to signing any new international environmental
treaties or creating new international environmental organisations
at the summit.
”In our view, the worst possible
outcome at Johannesburg would be taking any steps towards
creating a World Environmental Organisation (WEO), as the
European Union has suggested.”
Juniper said that most of the NGOs that
signed the letter are funded by business interests.
The London-based charity Christian Aid
warned last week that multinational companies are hijacking
the summit agenda while measures that would benefit the poor
are being watered down.
The summit is supposed to be concerned
with finding sustainable solutions to social and environmental
problems, it said. ”But proposed binding regulations
on companies, covering issues such as human rights and the
environment have been pushed down the agenda in favour of
voluntary agreements,” Christian Aid said.
The corporate lobbying has been carried
out by, among others, an organisation called Business Action
for Sustainable Development, according to Danny Graymore of
Christian Aid.
”Of course, Christian Aid recognises
that there is a legitimate role for business in such deliberations.
Non-governmental organisations are free to lobby the summit's
preparatory process too.”
”But not only does the corporate
sector have incredible clout, it also has more money to fund
lobbying, and therefore greater access and influence than
civil society groups,” he added.
Christian Aid is calling for international
regulation of transnational corporations to set minimum human
rights and environmental standards.
Some corporations support such plans,
said another NGO spokesman.
”The more progressive parts of
the business community have, extraordinarily, joined with
NGOs in calling on governments to agree specific, targeted,
time-bound measures to address global problems,” said
Steve Sawyer of Greenpeace International.
”But the strong hand of the less
progressive corporate agenda is readily apparent in the negotiation
positions of the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and
some other industrialised countries,” he added.
Malini Mehra of the Calcutta-based Centre
for Social Markets agreed that big business is not a monolith,
and said not all companies are ”devils”.
”There are sunrise and sunset industries
that will fight tooth and claw to promote their interests.
But no viable business has a vested interest in wrecking the
planet,” she added.
”All, however, do have a vested
interest in eliminating poverty to grow new consumer markets,
promote peace for stable economies, and reduce environmental
and social risk.”
Added Mehra: ”our focus is on bringing
progressive southern business to the summit. This is an important
but largely forgotten constituency for change.” (END/2002)
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