Steps to Earth Summit<\/p>\n
Hira Jhamtani, Board Member, National Consortium for Nature
\nand Forest Conservation in Indonesia (KONPHALINDO), Jakarta<\/p>\n
Among recent articles in this newspaper on the World Summit on
\nSustainable Development (WSSD) which opened in Johannesburg,
\nSouth Africa on Monday was \"Why the Earth Summit must fail\" by
\nW.B. Chambers.<\/p>\n
Chambers wrote that it is better to let the Summit fail since
\ngovernments have no commitments to sustainable development and
\nbecause the negotiations have lost directions. As a witness to
\nthe Rio Earth Summit in 1992, and an active participant during
\nthe preparatory meetings (PrepCom) to the WSSD this year in Bali,
\nI am inclined to sadly agree with the above author.<\/p>\n
In Johannesburg, heads of states and negotiators will try very
\nhard to reach to an agreement, merely to save the Summit, not to
\ngarner commitments and support for sustainable development.<\/p>\n
Sustainable development would thus only be reduced to finding
\nagreements on compromise languages to the remaining contentious
\nissues in the Draft Plan of Implementation i.e. mainly on
\nreducing use of fossil fuel and tackling climate change,
\nglobalization, finance and trade and governance.<\/p>\n
Even the agreed text on technical issues does not say much
\nabout implementation. The draft Implementation Plan is full of
\nwords such as \"encourage\", \"support\", \"take further action\",
\n\"call upon governments\", etc.<\/p>\n
The success of the Summit would be measured only on whether
\ngovernments can come to an agreement on the text of those issues.
\nWhat comes after the text has been agreed upon is another issue.
\nWhen governments can renegade on the commitments made in Rio de
\nJaneiro 10 years ago, they can renegade on the commitments to be
\nmade in Johannesburg. And therefore the Summit's success should
\nnot be in reaching agreements on texts, but should be measured on
\nits contents and whether governments and the United Nations
\nimplement their commitments in the future.<\/p>\n
The WSSD will be a success if the following 10 points are
\nagreed on by governments and then implemented.<\/p>\n
One, principles on \"common but differentiated
\nresponsibilities\" and precautionary approach (as part of the Rio
\nDeclaration) must be not only retained in the Draft
\nImplementation Plan -- details on its operations should be
\nprovided.<\/p>\n
Two, as a logical consequence of the precautionary principle,
\ngovernments must agree on concrete steps for technology
\nassessment to reduce negative impacts and threats to sustainable
\ndevelopment. Such technologies are, for instance, nuclear, modern
\nbiotechnology and all future technologies with possible adverse
\nimpacts on sustainable development.<\/p>\n
Three, governments must agree on a time frame for ratification
\nof the Kyoto Protocol and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
\nFour, the Summit must make commitments and set dates for
\nnegotiating a legally binding convention on corporate
\nresponsibility, particularly pertaining to environment and social
\ndimensions.<\/p>\n
Five, the summit must call for a ban on the patenting of life
\nforms and parts of life forms as an effort to strengthen measures
\nin conserving biodiversity, fostering food sovereignty and
\nupholding human and ecological ethics.<\/p>\n
Six, the Summit must make commitments to take steps to reform
\nthe global financial architecture to create a stable economic
\ndevelopment in developed and developing countries, as well as to
\nsolve the unequal economic power relationships between developing
\nand developed countries.<\/p>\n
Seven, governments must agree to manage (including to reduce
\nor abolish) developing countries' debts as one of the basic
\nconditions to sustainable development at the national and
\ninternational level.<\/p>\n
Eight, the summit must produce an agreement on international
\ngovernance for sustainable development, through measures to
\nensure coherence between the UN, the World Trade Organization),
\nthe International Monetary Fund and the Bank, adhering to the
\nprinciple that implementation of treaties on sustainable
\ndevelopment and environment must not be undermined by trade and
\nfinancial agreements.<\/p>\n
Nine, governments must agree on legally binding measures to
\nreduce green house gases through time-bound targets to
\nconsumption of fossil fuel, shifting to cleaner production
\ntechnologies and gradual switch to renewable energy sources, even
\nbeyond the Kyoto Protocol.<\/p>\n
Ten, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) must be reformed
\nso as to reduce the World Bank's domination, since the Bank is a
\nnorthern controlled agency with a poor track record on
\nsustainable development.<\/p>\n
Many of the above points (such as green house gases reduction,
\ntechnology assessment, debt management and reducing the dominance
\nof the World Bank in GEF) have been raised way back in Rio by a
\nnumber of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). They have been
\nraised over and over again and particularly during the PrepComs.
\nSome negotiators have picked these points and tried to push them
\ninto the text, others have ignored them or watered down the
\nlanguage.<\/p>\n
The expression \"the need to negotiate a legally binding
\ninternational treaty on corporate accountability\" has been
\nreduced to \"adopt voluntary measures for corporate
\naccountability\". Inevitably these 10 points will not form part of
\nthe official summit negotiations.<\/p>\n
Without these 10 points, the Summit would be a failure anyway;
\neven its governments manage to agree on the remaining contentious
\nissues in the Draft Implementation Plan. So, as Chambers wrote, a
\nfailed WSSD might just be the shock therapy needed to make
\ngovernments and international agencies renew commitments to
\nsustainable development.<\/p>",
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