By Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva
The G8 summit in Heiligendamm offers a fresh opportunity for
leaders of outreach countries - South Africa, Brazil, China, India
and Mexico - to deepen the dialogue with the major industrialized
economies on priority issues in the international agenda started in
Evian back in 2003.
These outreach meetings have been gaining strength each year.
They have achieved recognition precisely because of the new
approaches to G8 discussions that they introduced.
I am persuaded that it is high time the main emerging economies
were heard - particularly on climate change, sustainable
development, new and renewable energy sources and financing for
development.
This is not because the populations of our countries are
directly affected but on the basis of our countries' ability to
formulate and implement innovative proposals as a response to
multiple challenges.
Bio-fuels are likely to turn into international commodities,
evidence of our joint efforts to find coordinated solutions. The
widespread use of ethanol and bio-diesel helps democratize access
to energy, decreasing the worldwide dependence on finite reserves
of hydrocarbons.
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Concomitantly, this contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions, helping to curb the results of climate change that
affects all of us.
Bio-fuels are particularly relevant for the developing
countries. Because of the huge potential for creating jobs and
generating income, bio-fuels offer a real alternative for
sustainable growth, particularly for the countries that depend on
exporting their scarce raw materials.
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In addition, ethanol and bio-diesel open up new roads for
development, particularly in the biochemical sector. They are
enabling economic, social and technological alternatives for
countries that are economically less well-off but richer in
sunshine and arable land.
The arguments that bio-fuels may impact on food security or
aggravate climate change are built on a false premise. Provided
every country adopts crops that are adequate to its needs,
bio-fuels can act as partners for food security and environmental
protection.
A rigorous public certification system supported by multilateral
agreements will both protect the environment and guarantee
acceptable working conditions. A balance between small family farms
and large-scale plantations can also be accomplished in the manner
that it is enshrined in Brazil's legislation.
Indeed, we have been sharing our experience with our neighbors
in Latin America, the Caribbean and with our African brothers and
sisters.
In order to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
it is also essential to multiply innovative finance mechanisms
capable of ensuring that there are necessary resources to change
the living conditions of millions of excluded people.
The levy charged on air tickets is but a diminutive example of
what can potentially be achieved. The creation of the International
Drug Purchase Facility (UNITAID) illustrates this very well.
The Outreach Summit offers us opportunities to put forward
integrated worldwide strategies to deal with the major threats to
our planet. No sustainable development, environmental harmony or
lasting security will be achieved if we are unable to eradicate
hunger and extreme inequality.
This is the reason that progress is needed in the multilateral
trade negotiations. We need a genuine development round at the
World Trade Organization (WTO). In this manner, the results will
bring the benefits which have been pledged so many times but which
never materialized - namely, trade liberalization for the most
disadvantaged countries.
Perhaps the largest test of our ability to forge truly global
governance lies ahead in the urgent need to distribute
responsibilities and costs. We cannot procrastinate any longer.
These responsibilities are shared but distinctive. When we speak
of global warming or about multilateral trade negotiations, we
cannot use the same yardstick when dealing with countries that have
unequal capabilities and responsibilities.
For instance, the legitimate protection of intellectual
property, which is on the G8 agenda, cannot preclude the ethical
imperative to ensure that essential drugs are available at
accessible prices.
Brazil is fully aware of its obligations and has been thoroughly
engaged in all these initiatives. That is why we trust that the G8
outreach dialogue will remain an indispensable jurisdiction for the
consolidation of a joint agenda of shared interests and challenges
by everyone on our planet.
The creation of a permanent forum of developing and developed
countries aimed at tackling the central issues in today's world
will help make globalization less asymmetric, creating more
solidarity.
The author is president of Brazil.
(China Daily June 8, 2007)
