Sombre delegates gather for Earth Summit

Ten years ago, Earth Summit delegates celebrated in the streets of Rio de Janeiro.

But as leaders of more than 100 nations prepare to gather again – more sombrely this time, in Johannesburg – delegates say little, if any, headway has been made to prevent global warming, species extinction and other environmental problems.

For nearly two weeks, starting tomorrow, 65,000 delegates will convene in venues throughout sprawling Johannesburg.

The mission of the World Summit for Sustainable Development has been stated many ways but those involved say it boils down to this: To save the planet from ecological devastation and rescue billions of people from wretched poverty.

The meeting, organised by the UN, is nicknamed “Rio+10” because it marks the 10th anniversary of the landmark Earth Summit which put environmental issues on the global political agenda for the first time.

Few of the Rio goals have been met. By many measures, Earth’s condition has deteriorated. Global temperatures and sea levels creep upward as heat-trapping pollution accumulates in the atmosphere. Deforestation and species losses mount.

And as the world’s population gallops past six billion, problems of clean water, infectious disease, hunger and our appetite for limited natural resources worsen.

In Johannesburg, summit leaders have made the diplomats’ job even harder by expanding the agenda to include issues of enormous human suffering.

Add to it the growing resentment that the benefits of globalisation continue to be concentrated in the hands of Western corporations and elude the outstretched grasp of the developing world.

On Saturday, international negotiators discussed how to overcome their differences on issues before the summit’s official opening.

Authorities fired stun grenades at about 300 demonstrators who tried to break through a police cordon at a nearby university. One person was arrested and there were no immediate reports of injuries in the protest against globalisation.

Greenpeace activists scaled the wall of a building at a nuclear power plant to protest the use of nuclear energy in Africa.

“If we do nothing to change our current indiscriminate patterns of development, we will compromise the long-term security of the Earth and its people,” says Nitin Desai, the summit’s secretary-general.

To many participants, Johannesburg represents perhaps the last good chance to protect the planet.

“Not everything was rosy at Rio,” said Christopher Flavin, president of the Worldwatch Institute, an environmental advocacy group. “But there wasn’t the sense that we have today. If we don’t get something done and if we have a few more unfortunate developments, things around the world could be unravelling.”

And the country that many delegates consider least likely to win a gold medal in Johannesburg? The US.

At Rio, then US President George Bush ignited a diplomatic furore by rejecting accords to protect biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Little has changed. The US has angered both its European allies and developing nations by stifling many global environmental accords inspired by Rio, citing economic concerns.

Since Rio, US consumption of energy has jumped 21% and greenhouse gas emissions are up 13%, according to figures gathered by the UN.

In June, pre-summit negotiations held in the tropical paradise of Bali disintegrated into acrimony.

The US demanded that fiscal accountability and anti-corruption guarantees be attached to its foreign aid. Smaller countries demanded the US share more technology and comply with international environmental restrictions.

Several delegates wore badges and T-shirts which said: “What should we do with the United States?”

To the delight of conservative political supporters at home, President George W Bush is skipping the summit, deciding not to repeat his father’s experience.

US offers of “concrete and practical” solutions will be negotiated by other administration officials, Mr Bush said in a statement. Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit Johannesburg on the summit’s final days.

The US is said to be preparing an aid package to promote clean water initiatives in several countries, as well as partnerships with business and non-governmental organisations. But the offers are unlikely to contain strict timetables or specific promises, observers said.

Delegates grumble about the US’ lack of engagement, especially when Mr Bush is seeking international cooperation in the global war on terrorism.

“We were quite despairing after the Bali meeting because governments weren’t willing to make commitments necessary to make real progress,” World Wildlife Fund vice president Brooks Yeager said. “This should be about delivering on the promises of Rio.”

In exchange for foreign aid accountability, he said, the US should follow the lead of other nations and make real strides in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy and recycling. Such policies would pay geopolitical dividends beyond the environment, he said.

“The efforts of United States to mobilise against terrorism would be helped immeasurably if we were part of a broad coalition to address sustainable development.”

Summit participants say Johannesburg is further hampered by the combination of a crushing agenda and a looser diplomatic framework.

Unlike their counterparts in Rio, delegates won’t arrive with major treaties ready to sign and a global action plan virtually negotiated in advance.

Instead, organisers are seeking two levels of commitments from governments: modest consensus agreements known as Type One, akin to an agreement in principle; and more ambitious, but voluntary commitments known as Type Two.

On the summit’s eve, even its organisers are beginning to reconsider the race they’re running.

The UN food agency now says the target to halve the number of the world’s hungry won’t be met by 2015.

“It does not imply a failure – the target was very ambitious, and it can still be reached” but not until 2030, said Jelle Bruinsma, an economist who is one of the authors of the agency’s study.

Nobody seems surprised. Since Rio, few of the first summit’s grandest ideas translated into action.