You are here: Home » Sustainable Life » Earth Summit

EARTH SUMMIT UPDATE

From Friends of the Earth

The Earth Summit's over and we thought you'd like a final update on how it went.

**Betrayal - but tinged with hope**

World leaders failed to tackle the twin problems of poverty and environmental destruction. Together they managed to agree just two new targets on access to sanitation and protection of marine life.

But there was a piece of good news:

**What's next**

The fact that we made any progress at all is down to you. We couldn't have done it with without your thousands of noises and messages. Thanks so much for your support.

But we still need your help. Friends of the Earth will be continuing to fight for global rules for big business at other world talks over this coming year.

Here in the UK, there's a once in a lifetime opportunity over this next year as the Government will be reviewing company law.

We'll be working to make rules for big business a part of British law.

But this is the last update you'll receive from us unless YOU ACT NOW:

Join the Friends of the Earth Corporate Action list

Get regular updates and actions on our Corporates campaign.

http://www.foe.co.uk/corporates/press_for_change/join_list/

Take part in our other campaigns

Join Campaign Express for free and receive in the post three packs a year with info and timely actions you can do.

http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/campaign_express/

Many thanks,

The Earth Summit team

Friends of the Earth

1st October 2002

http://www.foe.co.uk

http://www.rio-plus-10.org

http://www.radioearthsummit.org

http://www.foei.org

New York, 23 September

Back from the World Summit on Sustainable Development, United Nations officials are preparing the groundwork for a system-wide assault on the targets, timetables and commitments that were agreed upon in Johannesburg.   Read More...

World Summit on Sustainable Development

26 August - 4 September 2002

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) marked the 10th anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit. The UN General Assembly has called for this Summit to reinvigorate, at the highest political level, the global commitment towards the achievement of sustainable development. WSSD provided an opportunity to give fresh impetus to the international sustainable development process, setting out a forward looking agenda to identify areas for further action as well as overcoming obstacles to the implementation of Agenda 21.

Where?
Johannesburg, South Africa http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/

When?
26th August - 4th September 2002.

Who?
The Summit brought together national governments, United Nations agencies, multinational financial institutions, business, Local authorities, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and representatives from other major groups.

Listen to what Mark Thomas said about multi-nationals.

Friends of the Earth

Press Release

HOW TO SABOTAGE A SUMMIT: THE HIDDEN HAND OF EXXON REVEALED

15 Aug 2002

Leading Republican Party and conservative lobbyists – many funded by Exxon Mobil – have combined to try to stop progress at the Johannesburg Earth Summit. Environment pressure group Friends of the Earth today published a letter to President George W Bush from 31 political groups and individuals, demanding that he not attend the Summit and calling on him to ensure that his negotiators prevent any progress on climate change .
 

The letter, dated August 2nd, says “we applaud your decision not to attend the Summit in person … Even more than the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, the Johannesburg Summit will provide a global media stage for many of the most irresponsible and destructive elements involved in critical international economic and environmental issues. Your presence would only help to publicize and make more credible various anti-freedom, anti-people, anti-globalization, and anti-Western agendas.”

It also claims that “the least important global environmental issue is potential global warming and we hope that your negotiators at Johannesburg can keep it off the table and out of the spotlight.” And the letter also says that “in our view the worst possible outcome at Johannesburg would be taking any steps towards creating a World Environmental Organization, as the European Union has suggested”.

Signatories include:

 Fred L Smith and Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute
    - funding from Exxon $280,000 in 2001

Craig Rucker from the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT)
    - funding from Exxon $35,000 in 2001

Steven Hayward from the American Enterprise Institute
    - funding from Exxon $230,000 in 2001

Terrence Scanlon from the Capital Research Center
    - funding from Exxon $25,000 in 2001

Joseph L Bast of the Heartland Institute
    - funding from Exxon $90,000 in 2001

Deroy Murdock of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation (AERF)
    - funding from Exxon $150,000 in 2001

H Stirling Burnett of the National Center for Policy Analysis
    - funding from Exxon $20,000 in 2001
 

(all funding details from www2.exxonmobil.com/files/corporate/public_policy1.pdf, an official Exxon document)

Many of these groups have long been active in trying to frustrate progress on tackling man-made climate change and other global environmental crises. For example, the CFACT sent fifty “trained” Republican students to the Bonn climate talks in 2001 to demonstrate against the Kyoto Treaty. The AERF promotes and supports the work of leading US climate sceptic S Fred Singer.
 

Friends of the Earth Director Designate Tony Juniper commented:
 

“This letter casts a grim light on the iron triangle of the Bush White House, corporate polluters such as Exxon Mobil, and conservative lobbyists.
 

They are determined to block any progress at the Johannesburg Summit. They have already leaned on President Bush not even to show up, and are now demanding that his negotiators do their best to wreck any hope of agreement. These lobbyists cannot live off the support of ordinary citizens – who would react with incredulity or anger to their claims that climate change is an issue of no importance..
 

So they rely instead on handouts from corporations such as Exxon. Exxon doesn’t have the courage to promote its political agenda directly. So it relies on the lobbyists to do its dirty work.
 

The case for a binding international agreement to control the behaviour of destructive corporations has never looked stronger.”

Notes

Friends of the Earth is a member of the Stop Esso Campaign, launched with fellow coalition members Greenpeace and People & Planet in response to the US withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol in Spring 2001. ExxonMobil were the most prominent members of the fossil fuel lobby opposing US involvement in the vital Kyoto climate treaty.

Contact details:

Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1  7JQ

Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Email: info@foe.co.uk
Website: www.foe.co.uk