Archived press release

Earth summit beached in bali - talks end with no agreement

7 June 2002

[1] “The State of the Environment: Past, Present, Future?” UNEP 2002
The fourth and final preparatory meeting for the Earth Summit has ended in Bali with no final agreement – abandoning the planet on the road to ruin.

Last month’s UNEP report on the state of the world’s environment said the planet was at a “crucial crossroads” [1]. Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP said: “We need concrete actions, we need concrete timetables and we need iron will from all sides.” But ministers meeting in Bali before this summer’s Earth Summit have ignored this ultimatum to act.

And world super-power, the United States must accept much of the blame for this failure, by doing everything possible to prevent agreement on legally binding commitments.

In a statement UK Secretary of State for the Environment, Margaret Beckett said: “We now have formal recognition at a global level that the goals of sustainable development can only be delivered by partnerships between governments, business, and civil society”.

But Friends of the Earth criticised the proposals in the text, which if adopted, will see governments abdicating their responsibility for the world’s environment to big business.

The environmental group pointed to the failure to include binding responsibilities or duties on trans-national corporations with respect to their social and environmental impacts in the text. Instead the document suggests that “voluntary agreements" with business can achieve this goal.

Craig Bennett, of Friends of the Earth said:
“Margaret Beckett went to Bali faced with the challenge of taking concrete action to rescue the planet. Instead, along with her EU and US colleagues, she has contributed to a giant fudge. If the governments of the world cannot work together to make the Earth Summit in Johannesburg a success, we will all suffer the consequences – with climate change, forest destruction, water shortages and increasing world poverty.”

Notes:

[1] “The State of the Environment: Past, Present, Future?” UNEP 2002 See www.unep.org

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust