WSSD.INFO NEWS
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ISSUE 8 19 July 2002 – 2 August 2002
Compiled by
Richard Sherman
Editor's note: Welcome to the eighth issue of WSSD.Info News, compiled by Richard Sherman. We hope to provide this service on at least a fortnightly basis from now through the Summit. If you should come across a news article or have a submission for the next issue, please send it directly to Richard. WSSD.Info News is an exclusive publication of IISD for the 2002SUMMIT-L list and should not be reposted or republished to other lists/websites without the permission of IISD (you can write Kimo for permission.) If you have been forwarded this issue and would like to subscribe to 2002SUMMIT-L, please visit http://iisd.ca/scripts/lyris.pl?join=2002summit-l.
Funding for the production of WSSD.Info News (part of the IISD Reporting Services annual program) has been provided by The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government of Canada (through CIDA), the United States (through USAID), the Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL), the United Kingdom (through the Department for International Development - DFID), the European Commission (DG-ENV), the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Government of Germany (through German Federal Ministry of Environment - BMU, and the German Federal Ministry of Development Cooperation - BMZ). General Support for the Bulletin during 2002 is provided by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Environment of Finland, the Government of Australia, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Environment of Norway, Swan International, and the Japanese Ministry of Environment (through the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies – IGES). If you like WSSD.Info News, please thank them for their support.
GENERAL NEWS
OPINIONS
ON THE WEB
GENERAL NEWS
1. PRESCOTT'S ROLE AT EARTH SUMMIT IN DOUBT Daily Telegraph 2 August 2002 The attendance of John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, at this month's Earth Summit has been cast into doubt as Downing Street seeks to avoid accusations of lavish spending at a meeting dedicated to helping the world's poor. Mr Prescott may become a victim of Tony Blair's desire to streamline the British delegation to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, a gathering of 106 world leaders and up to 60,000 other delegates. The British delegation has already been pared down from more than 100 ministers and officials to around 70, and there is pressure for further cuts. Under threat are the First Ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland who are currently scheduled to attend the event, each with a small group of their own staff.
Questions are being asked about their exact role at the international meeting. "There are only four chairs allocated for each country in the main debating chamber in the convention centre, so where would they all sit?" asked a summit insider. The 10-day summit officially begins on Aug 26, but Mr Blair is likely to fly into Johannesburg only for the main heads of government meeting on Sept 2 and an official banquet in the evening. The other leaders of the G8 are also due to attend, with the exception of President George W Bush. The assumption is that Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, will attend, although this is still uncertain. Security so close to the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks is a prime concern, and the South African authorities are providing well-trained security personnel to discourage world leaders from bringing their own small armies of bodyguards. Although Mr Blair's plans are yet to be finalised, it is possible that he will not even spend the night in South Africa, leaving the bulk of the work to Margaret Beckett, the Environment Secretary, as leader of the British delegation. She will enjoy the hospitality of the £250-a-night Michaelangelo Hotel along with Clare Short, the International Development Secretary, and, possibly, Michael Meacher, environment minister. Mr Prescott will also stay there - if Mr Blair decides that he should go. Controversy over the numbers of ministers and officials projected to attend an Earth Summit preparatory meeting in Bali earlier this year led to Mr Prescott staying at home.
Nine rooms have been allocated to Britain at the Michaelangelo, within walking distance of the summit's main facilities in Sandton, Johannesburg's most affluent commercial, residential and shopping centre. It would not look out of place in Hong Kong, Los Angeles or Paris and yet within walking distance is Alexandra township where blacks live in squalor. Those members of the British delegation who cannot be housed at the Michaelangelo will be based at a £50-a-night hotel closer to the centre of Johannesburg.
Mr Blair, who will arrive in Johannesburg after visiting another country in southern Africa, is keen not to be restricted to the summit convention centre. He wants a photo opportunity at a genuine African development project, possibly tied in with access to clean water for the world's poor. Water is one of five themes he has identified as central to the success of the summit, and a suitable case study out in the South African hinterland is being lined up for a visit. Britain's delegation of 70 is nothing compared with the 300-strong delegation from Germany and the 200 or so Japanese and 200-strong party supporting President Chirac of France.
A senior United Nations source said: "Kofi Annan, the secretary-general, has made it clear to UN agencies that they should take small, tight delegations. "We're taking the Earth Summit extremely seriously. If people have receptions they are being told not to get out the caviar." There is still no clear agreement on the wording of the summit's final political declaration and programme of action. The Bali meeting failed to iron out the differences, mainly between the developed and developing world, and much paperwork relating to the most important and controversial issues has still to be agreed. It is intended that Johannesburg will provide the essential environmental balance to agreements on liberalising trade, focusing on the world's poorest countries and on increasing development aid
2. AUSTRALIA RECOGNISED AS ENVIRONMENTALLY BACKWARDS:EXPERT AsiaPulse 2 August 2002 Internet: http://library.northernlight.com/FB20020802510000227.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#doc CANBERRA, Aug 02, 2002 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- Australia has lost significant ground in terms of its environmental policy and is regarded as backwards and recalcitrant in that area, according to a key negotiator for the United States at the coming World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). There was no country that had swung more sharply against environmental improvements in the decade since the Rio earth summit than Australia, Professor Daniel Esty said. Australia has been grouped with the United States as an environmental spoiler with its refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol designed to curb climate change. Prof Esty said Australia's record since the Rio earth summit showed a lack of leadership. "There is no country in the world that has swung more sharply in the last 10 years than Australia," he told ABC radio. "The US was not a leader in `92, it was sort of dragged along in some respects - it did well on some issues, less well on others. "But Australia was right out front, in `92, on a whole set of issues. "And today I would say Australia stands arm-in-arm with the US at the trailing end of efforts to address these global-scale problems and to take the environment seriously, more broadly." About 100 heads of state are expected to attend the summit but Prime Minister John Howard and US President George W Bush will not be there, instead sending high-level delegations to negotiate. The protocol could be ratified with the US and Australia but Mr Howard has rejected it as it stands, arguing it could cost jobs. The protocol would enforce targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Prof Esty said the world was at risk of missing out because of a lack of action. "There's still not an agreed upon agenda and frankly there's been a terrible lack of leadership, especially from the US but also from countries like Australia," he said. His comments came as a Washington-based researcher, Seth Dunn, of the Worldwatch Institute, said it was time to leave voluntary commitments behind and adopt binding protocol targets. "Momentum for bringing the Kyoto Protocol into force has been building, following the ratifications by the European Union and Japan earlier this summer," he said. "With ratification by either Russia and Poland, or Russia and Canada, the conditions for bringing the treaty into force would be satisfied. He said US, Australian and Canadian emissions exploded by 15.7, 32.3, and 11.5 per cent, respectively, between 1990 and 2001.
3. WSSD STILL NEEDS MONEY SABC News 1 August 2002 Internet: http://www.sabcnews.com/world/summit/0,1009,39836,00.html A month to go and still not enough cash. With South Africa's largest-ever-hosted summit less than four weeks away, millions of rands are still needed to host the event, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of delegates. Moss Mashishi, chief executive of the Johannesburg World Summit Company (Jowsco), who has shied away from giving exact figures, says about 70% of the budget for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) has been covered. The summit's total budget is about R550 million, of which the South African government will contribute R200 million. Mashishi said three or four donation deals to the summit still needed to be signed and sealed. He was speaking at a signing ceremony in Johannesburg to mark the German government donating R8 million to help fund the logistical preparations for the summit to be held from August 26 to September 4.
Other donations for logistics have come from countries including the Netherlands, which contributed R25 million to the summit and from Finland, which contributed about R10 million. Anna Margareta Peters, the German ambassador to South Africa, who signed the agreement, told reporters interest in the summit was great. She was sure that the high-powered German delegation attending the event would do its utmost to help ensure the summit's success. Earlier this year Germany donated R4,5 million to fund the Ubuntu Village, the entertainment and central hub of the WSSD. It also donated millions of rands to allow poorer civil society organisations to attend the Non-Governmental Organisations' (NGO) Forum, which will be running parallel with the summit. Peters said it was critical the logistics were well funded because it was an important aspect in ensuring the summit's success.
Mashishi, who also signed the deal, thanked Germany for the money. "We are honoured to receive this contribution. As South Africa we are really acting... as the custodians of the summit on behalf of the world," he said. "We welcome contributions from governments which are consistent with the spirit of the world that the people are taking this event seriously." Mashishi joked that he was "becoming associated with receiving money" but Peters told him "receiving money for a good purpose is a good habit". On preparations for the WSSD, Mashishi said plans were in the final stages and momentum was building significantly. He also said there had been a "huge" surge in bookings for the summit from all sectors. The event is expected to attract between 40 000 and 60 000 delegates. - Sapa
4. 87% OF POLLEES WORRIED ABOUT ENVIRONMENT Yomiuri Shimbun 1 August 2002 Internet: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020801wo31.htm Eighty-seven percent of pollees expressed concern over the future of the global environment, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun nationwide survey conducted on July 20 and 21. The figure combined those who said they were "very worried" about the threat of environmental destruction and those who were "fairly worried." Asked what they believed was the most pressing environmental problem, the majority, or 57 percent, of the respondents said global warming, followed by those who cited problems caused by chemical contamination, such as destruction of the ozone layer and environmental damage caused by the spread of dioxins, at 53 percent each. Seventy percent of the respondents knew about the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on curbing greenhouse gases, which requires industrialized countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions, while 46 percent expressed interest in the World Summit on Sustainable Development scheduled to start late August in Johannesburg. Asked what they did to reduce carbon dioxide emissions on a daily basis, 47 percent said they refrained from overusing air conditioners, while 33 percent said they turned off the main power switch of electrical appliances when not using the appliances. Twenty-eight percent said they purchased energy-efficient electrical appliances. Eighty percent of the respondents said they had reviewed their lifestyle in an effort to protect the environment.
5. NEW UN PUBLICATION UNDERLINES VITAL ROLE OF ECOSYSTEMS IN REDUCING POVERTY United Nations 1 August 2002 Internet: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=4346&Cr=biodiversity&Cr1= 1 August – At current extinction rates of plants and animals, the Earth is losing one major drug every two years, while less than 1 per cent of the world's 250,000 tropical plants has been screened for potential pharmaceutical applications, according to a new United Nations publication released today. The first "World Atlas of Biodiversity: Earth's Living Resources for the 21st Century" by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) is a comprehensive map-based view of global biodiversity and shows how humankind is dependent on healthy ecosystems for all its needs. The Atlas provides facts and figures on the importance of forests, wetlands, marine and coastal environments and other key ecosystems. It is the best current synthesis of the latest research and analysis by UNEP-WCMC and the conservation community worldwide - providing a comprehensive and accessible view of key global issues in biodiversity. The publication also highlights humankind's impact on the natural world: During the past 150 years, humans have directly impacted and altered close to 47 per cent of the global land area.
Under one bleak scenario, biodiversity will be threatened on almost 72 per cent of the land area by 2032. The Atlas reveals losses of biodiversity are likely to be particularly severe in Southeast Asia, the Congo basin and parts of the Amazon. As much as 48 per cent of these areas will become converted to agricultural land, plantations and urban areas, compared with 22 per cent today, suggesting wide depletions of biodiversity. UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said wise use of the Earth's natural resources was at the heart of sustainable development and a key issue for world leader's attending the crucial World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), which opens in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 26 August. "Humankind now diverts about 40 per cent of the Earth's productivity to its own ends, much of this is being carried out in a destructive and unsustainable way," he said. "It is vital that we reverse these unsustainable practices while at the same time taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the planet's natural capital, its natural wealth."
6. PARTNERSHIP APPEAL BY YOUTH REPORTERS AT JOHANNESBURG SUMMIT
7. GLOBAL WAR ON GLOBAL WARMING HEATS UP World Watch Institute
1 August 2002 Washington, DC - Thursday, August 1, 2002 — The world is on the brink of bringing into force one of the most far-reaching environmental treaties of all time, the Kyoto Protocol. And even without the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the United States, on board, signatories of the Protocol are setting the stage for a new generation of policymaking worldwide, reports a new study—the first ten-year review of global climate policy since the Rio Earth Summit—by the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based research organization. “The next critical step in controlling global warming is to bring the Protocol, and its legally-binding emissions limits, into force as soon as possible and leave the era of voluntary commitments behind,” says Seth Dunn, author of Reading the Weathervane: Climate Policy from Rio to Johannesburg. “The first President Bush argued for soft, voluntary commitments in 1992. It was a questionable claim back then, and one that—with a decade of hindsight—we can discard. For the current President Bush to continue recycling his father’s failed policy betrays either ‘policy amnesia’ or willful neglect of the record of the past decade.”
Momentum for bringing the Kyoto Protocol into force has been building, following the ratifications by the European Union and Japan earlier this summer. With ratification by either Russia and Poland, or Russia and Canada, the conditions for bringing the treaty into force would be satisfied. Climate change will loom in the background at the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August/September and will be front and center at the next round of negotiations, which will take place in New Delhi from October 23 to November 1. In this review of global climate change policy since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Dunn reviews global and national carbon emission trends between 1990 and 2001, and details the climate policies developed over the past decade in 11 industrial and developing nations and the European Union. Among the findings:
The European Union, the climate policy pioneer, saw emissions drop by 0.2 percent between 1990 and 2001. But E.U. emissions rose in 2000 and 2001, auguring future rises if new and stronger policies are not adopted. Emissions in Germany and the United Kingdom fell by 17.1 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, due to the shutdown of inefficient industries and a switch from coal to natural gas for electricity. Japan saw emissions balloon by 10.8 percent between 1990 and 2001, though it still boasts the world’s best ratio of carbon emissions per unit of economic output.
The United States, Australia, and Canada saw emissions explode by 15.7, 32.3, and 11.5 percent, respectively, between 1990 and 2001. Russia, the most carbon-intensive country, experienced a 30.5 percent drop in emissions between 1990 and 2001, largely due to its economic collapse during the 1990s.
Climate change rose to the top of the global agenda at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, where the original U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted. Under this agreement, industrial and former Eastern bloc nations agreed to aim to voluntarily return their emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000. However, nearly all the countries fell short of their initial Rio goals. Globally, carbon emissions grew by 10.2 percent between 1990 and 2001. Meanwhile, the scientific case for action continued to strengthen, due to further observed evidence of climate change and a string of new highs in global carbon dioxide concentrations and global average surface temperatures.
“The records in global CO2 concentrations and global temperatures, and the upward trends in global and most national emissions, indicate that the gap between climate science and policy has widened, rather than narrowed, since Rio,” says Dunn, who identified several key shortcomings in the policy responses to date: Most of the climate policies that were adopted have been too weak, only partially implemented, or discontinued.
Governments have failed to develop “diversified portfolios” of policies, with many relying on one type of measure—such as weak voluntary agreements. While “good practices” were identified in areas such as tax policy and energy efficiency standards, the existence of “perverse practices”—including subsidies for fossil fuel production and consumption (estimated globally at $200 billion per year)—has been a major impediment to climate policymaking, particularly in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
The transport sector emerges as a major blind spot in climate policy since Rio, receiving very little attention while becoming the fastest-growing source of emissions. Transportation, especially road transport, is projected to remain the fastest-growing source of emissions through 2020, with the most explosive growth occurring in the developing world. But governments have been loathe to touch the massive direct and indirect subsidies for road building, suburban development, and car travel that have fueled the surge in transport emissions. Dunn defuses several common myths in the climate policy debate, such as the claim that Brazil, India, and China are “rogue emitters.” “We found these nations taking numerous steps to slow emissions growth, primarily for economic reasons,” says Dunn. “For example, the U.S. government projects that China will surpass the United States as the world’s biggest carbon emitter by 2020. But recent trends suggest that the gap between the two countries’ emissions may instead widen, as Chinese emissions rise less rapidly than projected, due to significant reductions in coal use and widespread energy efficiency improvements.” Dunn also challenges the claim, often made by opponents of the Kyoto Protocol, that the costs of implementing the treaty will outweigh the benefits. The Protocol would require industrial and Former Eastern bloc nations to collectively reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2 percent between 1990 and 2008-12. But there is significant uncertainty about the economic consequences of meeting this commitment, as conventional economic models have historically overstated the costs and understated the benefits of environmental policies. “Keep in mind that the economists who predict that the Protocol will be too expensive are the same nay-sayers who predicted that no agreement would be reached in Kyoto,” Dunn points out. “The real-world evidence to date, and new studies showing significant potential for low- or no-cost emissions cuts, suggest that they will be proven wrong once again.”
Worldwatch Paper 160 - Reading the Weathervane: Climate Policy from Rio to Johannesburg please visit http://secure.worldwatch.org/cgi-bin/wwinst/BWP160
8. NGO FUNDING PROBLEMS LIKELY TO BE ERADICATED Business Day 31 July 2002 Internet: http://allafrica.com/stories/200207310543.html The introduction of a citizen-based initiative by Ashoka, which promotes nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and encourages them to find innovative ways of self sustainability other than relying on government or donor handouts, could be a way of resolving NGO funding problems. NGOs are continuously faced with problems funding their activities which are aimed at uplifting communities. Their contribution to the sustainable development of the country is usually underestimated, says Anusanthee Pillay, Ashoka southern Africa's regional director . Ashoka is an international nonprofit organisation that promotes creative and innovative ways for the NGO sector to become self sustaining. With the upcoming World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the crucial role played by civil society including NGOs, nonprofit organisations and community based organisations in alleviating poverty and promoting education and training will have to be acknowledged. During the summit a civil society conference will run concurrently at the Expo Centre in Nasrec, south of Johannesburg. Many international civil society organisations are expected to attend. The latest statistics on the state of the NGO sector in SA, compiled by the Graduate School of Public and Development Management at Wits University and co-ordinated by the Centre for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins University, shows that the NGO sector is represented by 98920 NGOs across all sectors of the economy. The sector contributes 1,2% to the country's Gross Domestic Product. It employs 645317 fulltime staff, 10,2% of the formal non agricultural workforce, which is 1% higher than the mining industry. It also employs a higher number of workers than public servants in national departments. Pillay says NGOs play an important role in the growth and development of SA. She says while the private sector has many sources of capital (including investment banks, debt-equity sales, credit unions, and venture capital firms), NGOs have a limited capital market to sustain their work. International aid agencies, governments, and foundations are typically the only sources of capital, she says. Sean Jacobs of Idasa, an organisation which promotes democracy, says in its newsletter, EpoliticsSA, that NGOs now compete directly with private and commercial firms to secure government contracts. "Sometimes NGOs do not have the technical know-how to compete with the more experienced private firms or consultants," he says. Pillay says SA's NGO sector, rich in funding during the antiapartheid days, has had mixed fortunes since. After the elections in 1994, many agencies redirected their funding to the government and to other countries still in turmoil and conflict. "The SA government still maintains a high level of funding but many NGOs are unable to access it via the National Development Agency in the Department of Social Development."
Pillay says NGOs have to be able to sustain their projects and their organisations. "They must do this while remaining accountable to their constituencies," she says. Pillay says Ashoka develops social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurs are people who originate innovative and creative ideas of how an NGO can be self sustainable, without relying heavily on government and donor funds. The only difference between social entrepreneurs and business entrepreneurs is that the social entrepreneur applies the ability on creativity and innovative thinking for social change, while the creativity of the business entrepreneur is aimed at profit.
Non-Profit Partnership director Eugene Saldanha says with alternative means of self sustainability, the funding problems of NGOs is at times exaggerated. Saldanha says while funding is important for NGOs, the problems do not end there.
"The lack of skilled, or insufficient, management capacity to oversee and ensure the successful implementation of projects and delivery of services is another contributing factor to the problems faced by NGOs," he says. Saldanha says for sustainable development to occur in the country, the NGO sector will need the support of both the private and public sectors and this means providing NGOs with nonfinancial services to help them deliver their services more effectively and timeously.
9. YOUTH WIN POLLUTION BET WITH BUSH, BARELY Reuters Health via Yahoo 31 July 2002 WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - A group of college and high-school aged youth announced Wednesday that they narrowly won a self-imposed bet with President Bush ( news - web sites) on cutting carbon dioxide emissions. Members of SustainUS, a group promoting sustainable development and environmental issues, said that they had collected pledges from American youth to reduce CO2 emissions by 21,800 lbs. through increased energy conservation. CO2 is a leading greenhouse gas thought to contribute to global warming ( news - web sites). About 2,300 youth will meet their pledges by cutting back on driving, taking shorter showers, and cutting consumption of energy-intensive meat products, said Dan Jones, member of the group who is also a senior at Hunter College in Manhattan. The group made a public bet with Bush on April 1 that it could secure enough pledges to cut emissions by 20,000 lbs. Reports early Wednesday indicated that the group had fallen several hundred pounds short of their goal, but late-arriving pledges put them over their goal at the last moment, officials said. The bet was an effort by SustainUS to promote the World Summit on Sustainable Development scheduled to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa later this month. Activists said that their win required Bush to attend the summit along with five US youth activists. President Bush, well known for his fondness of competition and friendly wagers, has been widely criticized for rollbacks in environmental standards, including a recent decision to relax some rules on industrial pollutant emissions from US factories. One problem with the bet, though, is that the president never agreed to it. Activists said they do not expect Bush to attend the summit, and the White House announced no plans for the president to travel to South Africa. Instead, Bush plans to leave Washington this week to spend most of August on a working vacation. "He plans to be at his ranch in Crawford, Texas," said Scott Paul, a junior at Columbia University and a member of SustainUS's steering committee.
10. JOHANNESBURG SUMMIT: GM GOES GREEN: WORLD'S LARGEST CAR MANUFACTURER SHOWCASES ECOFRIENDLY CARS, LOOKS TO PUSH NEW IDEAS AT WORLD GATHERING The Earth Times 31 July 2002 Internet: http://www.earthtimes.org/jul/johannesburgsummitgmgoesjul31_02.htm Imagine this: you're driving down from New York to Florida and never once do you have to stop for gas. In fact, you don't need any gas at all. All such hassles are taken care of because you are in a hydrogen fuel cell-powered car. General Motors (GM) had just such a scenario in mind when designing the AUTOnomy, a fuel cell vehicle with a striking resemblance to the futuristic Batmobile of comic strip fame. The AUTOnomy was only one of several new designs for advanced automotive technology showcased at their GM Technology Tour today in Central Park. "The AUTOnomy is a concept vehicle designed around fuel cells and biwired technology, or electrical wiring,"said Neil Schilke, GM's General Director of Engineering . "Fuel cell vehicles run purely on hydrogen, which means that further on down the road, it can help reduce our reliance on foreign oil and decrease the level of harmful emissions."
On Monday, GM unveiled a new research facility in Honeoye Falls, New York, to expand its ability to develop fuel cell technology. The new Fuel Cell Development Center--an 80,000 square-foot facility--will develop fuel cells for commercial use, creating up to 100 new research and engineering jobs. GM hopes to use this launch to promote a revolutionary change in automotive technology and usage. Through hybrid cars, fuel cells, and reliance on diesel fuels, GM looks to create a wave of environmental awareness among its consumers. "This is going to revolutionize the way we look at cars and trucks," said Dave Barthmuss, GM manager of Energy/Environment and Sustainability Communications. "Imagine the leap we took from riding horse and buggy to using cars. That's the type of radical shift in lifestyle and mindset we envision with hybrids and fuel cells. Our concept cars make the Jetsons look prehistoric." GM is also sending representatives to the upcoming UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, set to take place at the end of August. While at the summit, GM hopes to present plans for alternative transportation within the framework of sustainable development. "We want to go to Johannesburg to educate leaders about fuel efficiency leading to global sustainable mobility," said Beth Lowery, GM Vice President of Environment and Energy. "Working with groups like the World Business Council for Sustainable Development [WBCSD], we want to generate consumer incentives for using such vehicles, to quell any fears regarding safety, cost or efficiency." The Geneva-based WBCSD is a coalition of more than 160 international companies committed to furthering the goal of sustainable development. Lowery--who will attend the Johannesburg Summit--also realizes the challenges she and others at GM are up against when pushing for such new automotive technology, one of them being the price of the vehicles. "We aren't even touching the cost issue right now. For the time being, people need to be convinced that they are going to have a safe ride in our cars and that they are bettering the environment each time they ride in them before they worry about money." Since the showcase primarily exhibited prototype vehicles, one of the fuel-celled cars was quoted as having a price tag of $1 million. Once on the market, the price would naturally fall to meet consumer needs. A spokesperson from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) present at Tuesday's showcase expressed concern about the relative absence of infrastructural change in some of the fuel-efficient cars. "Sure some of these cars may be able to run on cleaner oil. But until car companies are willing to re-design their models so that consumers are no longer influenced by the 'bigger is better' mantra that has been splashed all over their ads for years, then America's roads will continue to have accidents resulting from these large-vehicle collisions." Responding to the challenges facing GM's new drive for ecofriendly cars, Schilke said, "We all agree that the road ahead is long and difficult. Obviously, GM can't solve everything. But one way we can help is to remove cars from the environmental debate altogether. By introducing new measures to reduce harmful emissions and improve fuel efficiency, we will help create a healthier environment for automotive mobility, a necessary function that we can't and don't want to do without."
GM is the world's largest manufacturer of cars and trucks with more than 355,000 employees worldwide. GM intends to be the first automaker to sell 1 million fuel cell vehicles and expects to begin seeing them on the road by 2010.
11. MARINE MAMMALS UNITE IN BEACHING AGAINST BUSH Greenpeace International 31 July 2002 Internet: http://www.greenpeace.org/news/details?news_id=20541 Marine mammals are fed up with Bush's inaction on climate change, and his latest announcement that he will not attend the Earth Summit in Johannesburg has prompted protest on both coasts. Whale and manatee populations on the US east coast have beached themselves in protest as ocean temperatures rise and Bush opts out of global treaties to stop climate change.
Off the coast of Cape Cod, 55 pilot whales have stranded themselves on a mud flat and are suffering from sunburn and sunstroke. Some of them were in shock, probably because when they are out of the water, their own weight can crush internal organs. Twenty of the whales have already died and rescue workers expected they would have euthanized another 28 Tuesday evening because they were too exhausted to swim back to open sea. One rescue worker overcome with emotion at the sight of the dying whales said it was desperation that drove the whales to beach themselves. "When will Bush see that he is responsible for destroying not just life ON Earth, but under the seas as well?" said the heartbroken rescue worker. Six endangered manatees beached themselves in Florida on Tuesday in an attempt to appeal to Florida Governor Jeb Bush to talk some sense into his brother President Bush and tell him to attend the Earth Summit meeting which will take place in less than a month in South Africa. Jim Huffstodt, an officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the manatees are exhausted from mating. "These poor girls, the only way they can escape the attention of the males, who are very persistent, is to ground themselves or go up on the beach." But several spectators swear they heard the manatees moaning "Baaaad Bush" in unison.
These protests on the east coast follow a massive squid protest on the coast of California last week. Hundreds of jumbo flying squid washed up along the San Diego coast which are normally found in the eastern Pacific ocean. Some believe the arrival of the squid is related to the El Nino climate phenomenon which sends warm tropical waters farther north than usual. Although it was climate that brought them to the shore of California, their mission was sending a powerful message to the US government to adopt clean renewable energy and stop the assault on the planet. A local fisherman who ensnared one of the squid close to shore said "With its dying breath the squid said: 'People think I'm just a dumb squid, but I'm smarter than George Bush when it comes to climate change'." Yet Bush is not alone in the dirty energy camp. Australia also announced that they would not ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and aquatic life in the Pacific have not taken the news well. Southern Right whales have maintained a high-spirited protest in Sydney harbour for the past two days. The three adult whales are maintaining a vigil in sight of the Sydney opera house and are attempting to restrict boat traffic in the harbour. They want the Australia government to take a new route at the Earth Summit and support plans to bring clean, green energy to developing nations - a solution to climate change that all mammals can appreciate. Just last week there was another massive protest on a beach near Albany, Australia where 58 false killer whales beached themselves in protest to Prime Minister John Howard's statement in Parliament that it would not be in Australia's interest to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Although the marine mammals have caught on to the protest tactics quickly, the squid are leading the way. A giant squid, 18 metres long and weighing as much as 250 kilograms, washed up on a Tasmanian beach last week protesting Australia hiding behind the US policy on energy and climate change. Reports are also coming in from Canada, another Bush backing country at international negotiations on climate and environment. Although a small group of politicians in the Canadian parliament are pushing their leader to adopt the Kyoto Protocol, the Prime Minister is stalling and slow to take up any action to prevent climate change. The news is out and we have received some reports of a pod of humpbacks heading straight for the Canadian coastline. These bold and brave moves by the oceans great creatures is a last warning to take up action at the Earth Summit that will stop climate change and provide the world with clean, renewable energy. They seem to care more about the fate of the planet than our own governments. Support their heroic action and keep an eye out for beaching protests in your country.
12. AFRICA'S BEACHES ARE SLIP SLIDING AWAYIndependent Online 31 July 2002 Internet: http://www.itechnology.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=qw1028135520203B263&set_id=1 Eleven alarming national reports on coastal erosion in Africa will be tabled for discussion at the World Summit on Sustainable Development which starts in Johannesburg on August 26, the United Nations Department of Public Information announced in a statement on Wednesday. "The pressure to attract investment for coastal tourist facilities that bring much-needed new jobs and revenue to developing countries, often ends up with projects that do not meet minimum standards of coastal protection," said Patricio Bernal, executive secretary of Unesco's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. He said this was frustrating, since scientific and technical knowledge to prevent coastal erosion was readily available and good practices were clearly defined. The national reports state that the seafront of Grand-Bassam in Cote d'Ivoire is in danger of crumbling into the water, while the Nigerian coastline is disappearing at a rate of 20 to 30 metres each year. The Seychelles, which has 491km of coastline on its 455 square kilometres of territory, reported tourism as a primary cause of coastal erosion - mainly arising from attempts to cosmetically improve the beach and swimming areas, while the provision of marine facilities such as marinas and piers also played a role. Gambia reported that the beach fronts of most of the hotels along their coastline have been washed away. The reports mark the end of the fact-finding mission of a new United Nations project that aims to focus attention on the problem and to foster dialogue on solutions. - Sapa
13. ACP-EU FORUM ON RESEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS REPORT South African Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology 30 July 2002 The ACP-EU Forum on Research for Sustainable Development took place at Cape Town on 29 and 30 July 2002. Senior officials from the ACP Group of States and EU Member States attended the meeting, which adopted the Agenda at Annex 1. The South African Minister responsible for Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Dr Ben Ngubane, hosted the meeting. This meeting was preceded, at the same venue, by two consecutive ACP preparatory meetings, the first at technical level and the second involving ACP Ministers responsible for science and technology. The outcome of these meetings is reflected in the Cape Town Declaration on Research for Sustainable Development (ACP/84/047/02) and also in the ACP's Cape Town Plan of Action (ACP/84/048/02 final, Annex 3). These events represent an important political follow-up of the ACP Vision for Sustainable Development. At its opening session Dr Rob Adam, Director-General of the South African Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Dr P Lutero, Assistant Secretary-General of the ACP General Secretariat and Dr Louis Bellemin, leader of the European Commission delegation, addressed the meeting. Chairpersons and General Rapporteurs for the four working groups were appointed (Annex 2). The ACP-EU Forum targeted two main outcomes: first a more in-depth discussion on the content of the thematic priorities identified in the Shared Vision; and secondly, advancing the preparation of key policy documents such as the Shared Vision and the Plan of Action and considering the contents of a draft future Ministerial Declaration which would emanate from an ACP-EU Ministerial meeting scheduled for December 2002. Such a Ministerial meeting was deemed critical to mobilise in a synergistic and complementary way, national resources in both ACP and EU Member States as well as bilateral and bi-regional instruments.
Discussions were held in plenary sessions as well as in four working groups, covering the priorities identified in the Shared Vision and allowing for ample discussion on both technical content and its implications for policy. Draft documents were consequently amended for transmission to the capitals in the two regions and to the European Commission. Summaries of the discussions carried out at Working Group level are attached. These discussions were subsequently considered in Plenary. The salient conclusions from these deliberations were adopted as the Cape Town Consensus. Of particular importance, in carrying forward the ACP-EU S&T dialogue are the following recommendations: * To ask the ACP-EU Informal Taskforce to accelerate preparations for the Ministerial Meeting, scheduled for December 2002 in Brussels; * To request the European Commission to make the necessary and timely arrangements leading to the full use of funding instruments in the 6th Framework Programme and in the 9th European Development Fund, in support of the S&T Co-operation and Research Capacity building, respectively; * To prepare a detailed road-map of the activities to be implemented in the run-up to the Ministerial Meeting and beyond - this road map should be incorporated in the Plan of Action; and * To further refine, on the basis of the Cape Town Consensus, the draft Shared Vision, Plan of Action and Ministerial Declaration for final approval by the forthcoming ACP-EU Ministerial Meeting. A preparatory meeting of senior officials should immediately precede this meeting.
14. UN'S 'RISKY' EARTH SUMMIT GAMBIT BBC 30 July 2002 Internet: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2159552.stm The United Nations' strategy for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) is a risk, a senior UN official says. It aims to secure consensus on uncontentious issues, and purely voluntary agreements on more ambitious goals. The approach could go a long way to make the summit's goals a reality. But there are fears it may play into the hands of governments unwilling to make real changes. The acknowledgement that the UN's strategy is fraught with problems comes from Jan Pronk, the special envoy to the WSSD of the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan. Mr Pronk, a former Dutch environment minister, briefing journalists in London, UK, said Johannesburg would need to agree a plan of action, with an agreed timeframe on implementation. There were three areas, constituting an action plan, needing agreement: * Agenda 21, the sustainable development plan of action drawn up at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit * the Millennium Goals, which Mr Pronk said effectively meant "halving world poverty by 2015" * financial commitments to implement the plan. There will be two levels of commitment sought from governments: consensus agreements, a sort of lowest common denominator approach, known as type one, and voluntary type two commitments, much more ambitious but entirely voluntary. Results expected Mr Pronk said: "Type two is for the many countries which are willing to go further. "It will let them set up networks with other countries, with business, and with non-governmental organisations. He told BBC News Online: "The cynics can certainly say this is something that may let unenthusiastic governments agree very little. "But the developing countries want agreement on a text first, and then the topping-up through type two agreements. "That's pragmatism, the only possible approach. This is a UN conference, and countries have been told they'll have to negotiate an outcome. "It is a risky strategy. But you have to take risks." Mr Pronk said he thought preparations for Johannesburg had taken "a good turn" since the fractious preparatory meeting in Bali in June. "All the signs are that the Bali problems are not insurmountable," he said. Attendance not optional "I expect the WSSD will be a success, meaning it won't be a failure. But whether it's simply a success or a big success depends on commitment to guarantee the implementation of the action plan. "Many countries see Johannesburg as an opportunity to address some of the underlying causes of alienation, frustration and the inclination towards violence. Johannesburg "should tackle roots of violence" George Bush should be told he can't afford not to attend. It's not a question of the US doing something for others - the interests of its people are at stake." The twin-track approach fills some observers with dismay. The UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, a key environmental policy campaign body, is among them. It says it is "concerned that type two agreements are principally a US cover for business as usual, and for governments to produce a weak plan of action". American support Liana Stupples, of Friends of the Earth, told BBC News Online: "Type two agreements are an unproven way of trying to run the world on a whim and a guess. "They give the US a trump card, allowing it to continue to exercise a veto." But Derek Osborn, chair of the UN Environment and Development UK Committee, told BBC News Online: "Partnerships like this are a good idea, and a complement to effective action. "That mustn't let governments off the hook. But it's easy to cast all the blame on the US. "They're not being purely negative, and we sometimes have a beam in our own eye, anyway."
15. WORLD SUMMIT ATTRACTS 106 LEADERS, NOT USA Environment News Service (ENS) 30 July 2002 Internet: http://ens-news.com/ens/jul2002/2002-07-30-03.asp NEW YORK, New York, July 30, 2002 (ENS) - Leaders of 106 countries have officially indicated that they will attend the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development set for Johannesburg, South Africa from August 26 to September 4, the UN announced today. Delegations from 174 countries will participate in the environment and development summit, but not all will be led by heads of government or heads of state. A head of state represents the state but does not exercise political power, while a head of government is the person in charge of the executive branch of government. Heads of government or heads of state from Europe, Russia, China, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea are among those who will be attending the summit, but to date the White House has not indicated that President George W. Bush will go to South Africa.
The National Security Council (NSC) office within the White House told ENS today that the President has not made an announcement indicating whether or not he will attend the summit. Nor has the United States designated a person to head the delegation, which the United Nations has listed at the ministerial level on the Provisional List of Speakers for the general debate which takes place during the last three days of the summit, September 2 through 4. An NSC spokesperson who preferred to remain anonymous said that Secretary of State Colin Powell might possibly head the U.S. delegation, or the head job could be handed to Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, who has led U.S. delegations to climate and sustainable development negotiations for the Bush administration in the past. The United States, India, Switzerland, Greece, and Austria are the only industrialized or large developing nations that are still listed at the ministerial level. Any country can update its listing until it is called upon to speak on the summit floor. Forty-five other nations are now listed at the ministerial level including: Chad, Chile, Cuba, Egypt, Estonia, Palestine, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Some 65,000 people are expected to travel to Johannesburg for the event including the official delegates to the summit itself and a significant number of additional people attending events associated with the Summit, such as the civil society Global Forum and the Ubuntu village and exhibition.
There are expected to be three main outcomes from the summit, United Nations organizers say. * A political declaration, where heads of state and government commit to taking the action needed to make sustainable development a reality * A plan of implementation, negotiated by governments, which sets out in more detail the action that needs to be taken in specific areas * Commitments by governments and all other stakeholders to a broad range of partnership activities that will implement sustainable development at the national, regional and international level The Johannesburg Metro Council is spending more than R65 million (US$6.5 million) to host the expected delegates. A large portion of the money is being spent on infrastructure development. Council officials said most of the work will be completed by July 31. The council estimates the summit will generate about R1 billion (US$99 million) for the city and create about 14,000 jobs. Some 200 metro buses will be made available to transport delegates to summit venues and tourism destinations around the city and to the Sandton Conference Center where the official summit will take place. Due to the threat of protests during the summit, a number of businesses in Sandton are planning to temporarily relocate to Midrand, the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported last week. The companies are concerned that any possible mayhem could disrupt |