| ? | |
| instant news and comment from the World Summit | |
|
[links] |
[NEWS AND VIEWS]
As we report today, the Telegraph is suggesting that Blair plans to stop Messrs Prescott, Trimble, McConnell and Morgan travelling to the summit.
The Daily Summit has discovered that sources close to Trimble are bemused by the reports. So is the report off the mark? Or are the first ministers the last to be informed?
Update: Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland have greeted the speculation about Trimble with "dismay"...
| 
| 
Yes, after a couple of decades slimming down, the earth is starting to get fat... [more]
Update - oh, and by the way, climate change will save British lives... [more]
Last week, The Daily Summit reported on British government sensitivities about the size of the delegation it is sending to the summit.
Today, The Daily Telegraph tries to keep the story moving. As even John Prescott is the easiest target. He may become a victim of Tony Blair's desire to streamline the British delegation, the paper reports.
According to the Telegraph, Rhodri Morgan, Welsh First Minister, Jack McConnell, Scottish First Minister, and David Trimble, Northern Irish First Minister, are also threatened with exclusion.
The paper quotes an unnamed 'summit insider' as asking: "There are only four chairs allocated for each country in the main debating chamber in the convention centre, so where would they all sit?"
It also reveals that ministers will be staying in the plush Michelangelo Hotel - though most of the rest of the delegation will be in a £50 a night hotel.
Intriguingly, the paper claims that Tony Blair will probably not even spend the night in South Africa, suggesting he will fly in for a photo opportunity and then head for home. Given that the PM has been pushing WSSD fairly hard, the Daily Summit predicts a longer visit...
General Motors is pushing clean cars ahead of the World Summit.
"We all agree that the road ahead is long and difficult," says their head of engineering. "Obviously, GM can't solve everything. But one way we can help is to remove cars from the environmental debate altogether. By introducing new measures to reduce harmful emissions and improve fuel efficiency, we will help create a healthier environment for automotive mobility, a necessary function that we can't and don't want to do without."
Beth Lowery, GM Vice President of Environment and Energy, will be attending the summit. "We want to go to Johannesburg to educate leaders about fuel efficiency leading to global sustainable mobility," she says.
Torleif Jonasson, of the Danish UN Association, has written a guide (word doc) to the "written and unwritten rules for NGOs in the WSSD game."
According to recent figures, the South African NGO sector contributes 1.2% of South African GDP and provides over 10% of formal, non-farming jobs - which is more than the mining industry...
The Daily Summit today dropped in on The Southern Business Challenge, which will be bringing the voice of progressive entrepreneurs from developing countries to the World Summit.
Founder Malini Mehra, from the Centre for Social Markets, is challenging governments to create space for the mavericks that drive economic growth. But she is also challenging Southern businesses to be at the forefront of creating sustainable societies.
?“We need to steer a path between ?‘business as usual?’ on one side and anti-globalisation protest on the other,?” she says. Southern business is the "missing link" that can push policy-makers to undertake the reforms needed to deliver sustainable development.
The Daily Summit will be talking to some of the Challenge?’s entrepreneurs as they argue their corner in Joburg?…
This pdf will tell you who is slated to represent which country at the summit.
Confused by the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 outcomes? Why not let the UN's FAQ befuddle you further?
"Type 2 outcomes or partnerships share the same objectives as Type 1 outcomes and that is implementation of Agenda 21. However, direct linkages in terms of modalities and goals may differ from issue to issue. On certain issues, a broad political agreement in Type 1 could provide basis for launching Type 2 outcomes. In other instances, the agreed document might contain details of the implementation initiatives that would provide a direct link for partnerships. Given the broad range of issues being negotiated, it would not be difficult to link a Type 2 initiative with the negotiated outcome. While maintaining the flexibility of these linkages, it would be possible to somehow anchor all Type 2 outcomes in Type 1 outcomes."
The Daily Summit hears that efforts continue to persuade George Bush to show his face at the summit. However, the money is still on Colin Powell to act as Bush's substitute.
However, the Environment News Service (cheesy slogan: "we cover the earth for you") reports speculation from a National Security Council spokesperson that the insultingly junior Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, Paula Dobriansky, may be sent instead of either Bush or Powell.
The UN now expects (pdf) 106 leaders to attend the summit. 58 Heads of State, 40 Heads of Government, 7 Vice-Presidents and one Crown Prince are expected to turn up. 108 leaders attended the Rio Summit 10 years ago.
?“The Summit is clearly a must for world leaders,?” said Summit Secretary-General Nitin Desai. ?“It is evident that most leaders see the importance of attending the Summit to revitalize efforts to pursue sustainable development. They see this as a major chance to make something happen.?”
Straw dogs are draft documents that allow negotiators to have something to take apart. Victor?’s Straw Dog covers the ?“current list of hot issues in South African civil society.?”
According to Victor, South African civil society is most interested in local issues. It doesn?’t think it?’s been properly consulted on NEPAD and worries that it is tainted by structural adjustment policies.
It wants reform of the WTO, and opposes the Global Compact and self regulation by business. Partnership with business is regarded with suspicion. ?“Why should business, while it represents nothing but the intention to make profit, be part of governance structures rather than simply subcontractors to government??” Straw Dog argues.
African Civil Society also wants rich countries to go beyond debt relief to acknowledge the ?“ecological debt?” they owe the developing world - a further reflection of the North/South gulf that may dominate the summit.
List of week one's approved side events...
Jan Pronk has also been talking to the BBC.
He says the UN will seek two types of agreement at the summit ?– type one which all countries sign up to, and type two, which are more ambitious but voluntary.
"It will let them set up networks with other countries, with business, and with non-governmental organisations," adds Pronk. "That's pragmatism, the only possible approach. This is a UN conference, and countries have been told they'll have to negotiate an outcome. It is a risky strategy. But you have to take risks."
Kofi Annan's special envoy to the summit, Jan Pronk, yesterday claimed that President Bush cannot afford to miss the summit, adding that "nobody will understand if he doesn't show up" to a summit he predicts will lead to a clear plan of action and concrete commitments.
Pronk draws attention to the famine in Southern Africa currently threatening 16 million people, saying credibility will be lost of if the summit fails to commit $600 million to relief efforts. The Daily Summit hears Clare Short is banging this drum too - more details as they emerge.
Jonathon Porritt, chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, pours scorn on the summit process, claiming that politicians are willfully ignoring hard scientific evidence that we are running out of planet. "What we have is ideology-based policy," he says, "with science deployed in a partisan and self-interested way to justify political expedience." The draft summit text, meanwhile, is "anaemic and duplicitous."
Porrit's solution?
First, rid markets of "perverse" farming subsidies. Second, make polluters pay. Third, allow poor countries to drive the development agenda. Fourth, slow population growth. Fifth, rein in capitalism.
However, these steps would "demand a quality of political leadership that earth scientists and green activists currently can only dream about."
Also in Doyle's piece, Indian Commerce Minister, Murasoli Maran, leads the developing world's attack on the rich world's inconsistent support for the free movement of goods, labour and services.
"The North is entering its shell of protectionism," he says. "They want to prevent the South from using the only competitive advantage they have: abundant labor."
Reuters?’ Alistair Doyle files a largely pessimistic piece about the summit?’s prospects. ?“Governments are scrambling to salvage next month's gathering,?” he says.
According to Doyle, preparations for the summit are far behind schedule, the agenda is gargantuan, and the rift between developed and developing countries seems to be widening.
Mats Karlsson, World Bank Vice President, defends the length of the summit draft. "If we make progress against poverty by 2050,?” he says ?“we would have a world economy that's three to four times the size of today. You cannot consume four times as much water. You don't have the technology to consume four times the amount of energy."
"Only 15 per cent of the world population, in high income countries, account for 56 per cent of the world's total consumption, while the poorest 40 per cent, in low-income countries, account for only 11 per cent," says Nigerian Minister of Environment, Alhaji Muhammad Kabir Sa'id. "While most people consume more today, the consumption expenditure of average African household is 20 per cent less than it was 25 years ago!"
According to a SABC/Markinor poll, only 15 percent of South Africans know the country will be hosting the summit...
|
[articles] |
 |
 |
Disclaimer: Views and comments expressed on this site are those of their authors, rather than the British Council or any other Daily Summit partner.
Copyleft: you are free to use the material on this site for any non-commercial purpose, to link to it on any level, or to use it as a source for any article or publication - provided you always attribute it to Daily Summit and link to this site if using material online.
Email any questions or media enquires to .
About Daily Summit