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Thursday,
August 8, 2002
from
Sustainable Development International
Sustainable development is vital to the
creation of a more stable world, according
to US Secretary of State, Colin Powell.
Writing in a special edition of the United
Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP)
magazine, Powell says that not only is
sustainable development a “compelling and
humanitarian issue”, but also a
“security imperative”.
“Poverty, environmental degradation and
despair are destroyers of people,” Powell
says, adding that “this unholy trinity can
destabilise countries, even entire
regions.”
However, despite such rhetoric, it is
unclear if US President George Bush will be
attending August’s World Summit, billed as
the most important gathering of world
leaders in a decade. The leader of the
world’s largest economy and polluter, Bush
is not expected to visit the South Africa
based meeting, which is dedicated to finding
a solution to global poverty and
environmental degradation.
The no-show is expected to lead to
widespread criticism from global leaders,
NGOs and the media, especially regarding the
US’s past behaviour towards environmental
meetings. In 2001, the US abruptly pulled
out of the Kyoto treaty, which was set to
regulate controls on carbon dioxide
emissions, claiming it was not in the
interests of the US economy.
The Johannesburg Summit is expected to
attract over 65,000 delegates from 174
countries, including 107 heads of state.
By Ben Townley
Also see:
UN
officials promote World Summit with a four
city tour of the US
Outrage
from NGOs, as UK minister cut from World
Summit
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