Can humanity become “the enemy of life itself”?

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday September 04, 2002 00:06 by Graham Caswell caswell at indigo dot ie

From the Earth Summit: Issue #7 of ECO Equity

In today's issue ECO Equity gives an overview of the Heads of States marathon of 5-minute speeches.

From the Earth Summit: Issue #7 of ECO Equity

In today's issue ECO Equity gives an overview of the Heads of States marathon of 5-minute speeches. There is a huge discrepancy between the grand rhetoric of the world’s leaders and the language in the Plan of Implementation and the draft Political Declaration. For example, leaders called repeatedly for clear targets and timelines, although they have been few and far between. Another common theme was the urgent need for political will, although there is little to be seen. Chirac asked if humanity can become “the enemy of life itself”. Good question.

The full newsletter available at www.earthsummit-ireland.org/updates.htm

Also in this issue:

-Dear President Mbeki: A letter to the summit's host in which the NGOs offer specific suggestions.

-Chirac: Plus or Minus Five? "We cannot say we did not know", says Chirac. But what's he doing pushing nuclear energy and fighting subsidy cuts?

-Chrétien: We Will Ratify…Well, Not Quite! The Canadian parliament will vote on Kyoto, thanks to masive public pressure.

-Schroeder: One of the few leaders who offered more than talk. He promised 500 million euros over 5 years to build a strategic alliance for renewable energy with developing countries, and another 500 million for improvements in energy efficiency in the South.

-Crying in the Wilderness? Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, showed political leadership. “It is not analyses which are missing. It is not solutions which are missing. What we are missing is the political will to implement them.” Of course, that's easy to say...

-Rasmussen: EU: Get Real! EU President Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s address to the Summit failed to connect the dots to arrive at a convincing vision of sustainable development.

-Of Angry Cops and Hungry Dogs: Eco-Equity called a press conference outside the conference centre - until the police moved in.

-Attention! Attention! Last Chance to Reaffirm Women’s Rights! Paragraph 47 is going down to the wire.

-Partnership or PR? A response to US secretary of state, Colin Powell, from the NGOs. JOINT STATEMENT BY CIVIL-SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS IN ASIA, LATIN AMERICA, AND AFRICA

-A Farmer’s Bad Dream.

Eco-equity is published by Consumers International, the Danish 92 Group, Earthjustice, Friends of the Earth International, Greenpeace, Northern Alliance for Sustainability, Oxfam International, and WWF.

The full eco-equity newsletter is available in PDF format on the Earth Summit Ireland website along with all issues released since the beginning of the summit.