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05 Sep 2002
The Earth Summit has broken up after publication of a notably feeble Political Declaration, watered down from the original draft after continued obstruction from the US and a minority of other countries. The Declaration was described by Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) as yet another betrayal of the millions of poor and vulnerable people around the world who looked to the Summit for real action on debt, climate change, deforestation, water and many other vital issues. The Political Declaration could have been an opportunity to compensate for the lack of specific targets and timetables in the Plan of Implementation.
It is particularly deplorable that the Declaration makes no mention
of the need to move from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The declaration
also contains weakened language on corporate accountability.
Daniel Mittler, Friends of the Earth International's Summit Co-ordinator,
said:
"This feeble and watered down Political Declaration is yet another
betrayal of all those around the world who looked to this Summit to
tackle the environmental and social crisis facing the planet. What
a tragic missed opportunity this Summit has been - thanks to the utterly
obstructive tactics of the US and the free market ideology of the corporations
that pull political strings in the background. The Declaration's welcome
statement about the importance of multilateral agreements and action
lacks credibility given the politics of this Summit. Above all, the
US demands international support whenever it feels the need, but refuses
international co-operation whenever it chooses. This is not diplomacy.
It is the crude and counterproductive application of power."
See www.foei.org and www.rio-plus-10.org for downloadable quality photos.
Contact details:
Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1 7JQ
Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Web: www.foe.co.uk/feedback.html
Media team
