Summit signatories warned to honour pledges

WORLD leaders who signed the Earth Summit agreement were yesterday warned to deliver their promises or risk ruining the planet.

Despite criticism from pressure groups that the deal was not strong enough, UN secretary general Kofi Annan said it would make a real difference for millions of poor around the world.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern pledged that Ireland would deliver all the commitments.

Mr Ahern said that while the Johannesburg agreement did not achieve everything its participants had hoped for, there had been progress.

"The issues discussed are especially important for the millions of people across the globe who do not have access to basic services such as water, sanitation, and energy. The summit outcome will, I believe, make a significant difference in these key areas," he said.

The leaders' most significant achievement was to set the target to halve the number of people 1.2 billion who lack access to safe water and sanitation, a move which is expected to save the lives of millions of children who die each year from diarrhoea and malaria.

Other key achievements were the establishment of targets for reversing the extinction of species and restoring fish stocks. Both have been hailed by governments, but criticised by environment groups for being weak and unenforceable.

"What matters is how we follow up and fulfil the commitments made.

"If we do so, we will have made a real and lasting difference," Mr Ahern said.

Earlier, US secretary of State Colin Powell was jeered by some delegates as he addressed the summit.

Hecklers chanting "shame on Bush" twice interrupted Mr Powell as he defended US policies from accusations that the world's richest country and biggest polluter had obstructed many of the summit's plans.

Much criticism centred on US opposition to renewable energy targets and its rejection of the Kyoto protocol.

Environment Minister Martin Cullen said yesterday the last-minute decision by Russia and China to save the Kyoto agreement, aimed at limiting greenhouse gases, was a major step forward.

Pressure groups, however, have described the final deal as ineffective and one of the biggest political sell-outs in decades.

Friends of the Earth said it was a damning indictment of world leaders, while Oxfam said it provided merely "crumbs from the table" for the poor.