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They came, they spoke, and they left.
It might be too idealistic to require that the heads of state and government from more than 190 countries attending the Earth Summit in Johannesburg this week to solve all the complicated and thorny issues threatening our planet at merely one conference.
Nevertheless, given the magnitude of global poverty and the world's stunning environmental woes, they owe the world's people a sincere commitment that the future of our planet will be a bright one.
Despite criticism over the ambiguous wording and compromises made during closed-door negotiations in such sensitive areas as energy, global warming, trade and sanitation, the leaders of the world did manage to agree upon an array of issues aimed at improving the lives of the poor while preserving the environment.
In what was finally called the "Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development," they vowed to take concrete actions and measures to ensure a secure and prosperous future for the world's 6 billion-plus residents. They have also pledged to do their utmost by 2015 to reduce by half the number of people living without proper sanitation, estimated at 2 billion, to "urgently" increase the use of renewable energy sources, and urge countries to reform subsidies that favor industrialized countries and to make subsidy policies more environmentally friendly.
The world is not unfamiliar with commitments and pledges like this. In fact, it is the third such meeting in three decades. Though the fulfillment of the goals have been unsatisfactory, the Stockholm Summit in 1972 and the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Summit did serve in drawing worldwide attention to the environment and sowed the seeds of sustainable development on our planet.
While the same problems such as poverty, hunger, wasted resources and ecological destruction continue to haunt mankind, new problems such as abnormal climatic changes, a shortage of fresh water, and the spread of HIV/AIDS are sowing new salt on old wounds. Even more important, terrorist activities, regional conflicts, trans-border crimes and rampant drug trafficking also pose challenges to world peace and security.
It appears as though the inability to properly handle all these problems will block our road to a sustainable world.
We cannot afford to wait for another 10 years before a fourth summit meeting acknowledges sadly that many of the targets set today are unfinished. It is time to translate our words into deeds and solid actions, if we don't, we will be leaving a devastating globe to succeeding generations.
Governments of the world need to demonstrate a political iron will to put this non-binding agreement into their national development plans and they must be highly responsible when participating in environmental international cooperations.
It is heartening to hear leaders of China and Russia announcing in Johannesburg that they have or will soon rectify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. Their decision will surely contribute to international efforts to rein in global warming.
As the world's largest developing country and a major player in environmental protection, China has achieved sustained economic growth by applying sustainable development strategies. Apart from the establishment of a legal system for sustainable development and improved law enforcement in this regard, the concept of sustainable development has now seeped through all aspects of the country's economic and social development efforts.
We believe that global sustainable development calls for a fair and equitable new international economic order, and we firmly support the Chinese Government's decision to pursue such a new world order with the collaboration of other members to make our world a better place to live.
(China Daily September 5, 2002)
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