Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumWWF - Rio Text "Colossal Failure Of Leadership" Greenpeace - "Epic Failure", "Polluters' Charter"
WWF Director General Jim Leape today issued the following statement on the negotiating text released this morning by Brazil:
Despite a late night negotiating session, the revised text is a colossal failure of leadership and vision from diplomats. They should be embarrassed at their inability to find common ground on such a crucial issue.
Now its up to world leaders to get serious about sustainable development and save this process. If they approve whats on the table now without significant changes, theyve doomed Rio+20 to ridicule.
While some weak words have been removed, diplomats have swapped them with toothless language. This includes tongue twisters like commit to the progressive realization and several promises to recognize problems and solutions.
Theyve added some positive actions around oceans protection. But, the text has lots of words that commit parties to nothing such as commit to promote and commit to systematically consider.
Two years and one late night of negotiations later, diplomats in Rio are letting the world down.
Were hoping that doesnt happen for all the hard work thats been leading up to this moment, and more importantly for the health of the people and the planet.
World leaders recognized problems 20 years ago, and theyve done little about them since. How long are we going to accept well look into it as a solution?
Mods: Press Release:
http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?205290
Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace International Executive Director said:
The future we want has gotten a little further away today. Rio+20 has turned into an epic failure. It has failed on equity, failed on ecology and failed on economy.
We were promised the 'future we want' but are now being present with a 'common vision' of a polluters charter that will cook the planet, empty the oceans and wreck the rain forests.
This is not a foundation on which to grow economies or pull people out of poverty, its the last will and testament of a destructive twentieth century development model.
"The only sensible thing left on the table until today was the launch of an Oceans Rescue Plan for the High Seas. This too has now been killed by the US, Canada, Russia and Venezuela who want to mine the seas for private profit with impunity and exploit the resources that belong to all humanity.
World leaders will begin to descend on Rio today and we have to ask why? We were promised a green economy, the Future we Want, but all we can look forward to is three more days of Greenwash.
From the G20 to Rio+20 this is not a good week for people and the planet. While billions are being spent bailing out banks and billions more on subsidising the fossil fuel industry, its clear whose agenda our leaders are following, that of business as usual of polluting corporations.
EDIT
Mods: Press Release
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/press/releases/Greenpeace-comment-on-state-of-Rio20-negotiations-text-for-adoption/
GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)What can we say? We knew this was coming.
Didn't we?
pscot
(21,024 posts)Now we need a plan.
GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)Last edited Wed Jun 20, 2012, 11:05 AM - Edit history (2)
Live forever or die trying - the best way I know how.
The outcome looks like it will be the same as all the times I've tried this before too.
FirstLight
(13,360 posts)it's sad that we are so close to the edge and there's no-one at the rudder
GeorgeGist
(25,321 posts)7 recs.
WTF is wrong with DU?
GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)Those of us who come here with specific issues on our minds - nuclear or renewable power, or chemical pollution or plastic bags - tend to ignore the "big issue" posts. On the other hand, many of us who are big issue people either see this as more evidence that the world's real problems are not going to be addressed, or are burned out from living with that realization since a year or two after Kyoto. IMHO.
marmar
(77,084 posts)nt