green party US press release

[Guest guest]

THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

 

MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release:

Monday, August 26, 2002

 

Contacts:

Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576,

nallen

Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624,

scottmclarty

 

 

GREENS HEAD TO JOHANNESBURG FOR EARTH SUMMIT II

 

Greens criticize Bush for thwarting the agenda and

snubbing the meeting; Global Greens release a list of

demands for the Summit

 

 

WASHINGTON, DC -- As members of the Green Party of the

United States sent a delegation to the World Summit on

Sustainable Development ( " Earth Summit " ), Greens

sharply criticized the Bush Administration for

pressing meeting organizers to remove trade, aid, and

debt relief from the summit's agenda. Greens also

condemned Bush's decision to send Secretary of State

Colin Powell in his place to the meeting, which will

take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August

26 to September 4.

 

" What's happening is that, thanks to the Bush

delegation, multinational corporations are going to

run the show, and only self-regulated 'public-private

partnerships' to save the environment will be

seriously considered, " said Kurt Shotko, Green

candidate for the 10th Congressional District in

Pennsylvania. " That means global warming measures

that won't interfere with the profits of fossil fuel

companies -- or affect the deteriorating pace of

global climate change. "

 

The environmental group Friends of the Earth recently

got hold of a copy of a letter to Bush from 31 groups

and individuals asking him not to attend the Earth

Summit and urging him to make sure that the U.S.

delegation blocks any measures to slow climate change.

The list include think tanks, lobbies, and pressure

groups supported by major corporations, such as

Exxon-Mobil, which funds the Competitive Enterprise

Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Heartland

Institute, Atlas Economic Research Foundation,

Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, Capital

Research Center, and National Center for Policy

Analysis, all of which have repaid Exxon-Mobil by

pressuring officeholders to sabotage the Kyoto

accords. Bush's policies reveal a quid pro quo to the

oil and gas companies that contributed over $10

million to the Republicans in the 2002 election cycle.

 

" At the time of the first Earth Summit in Rio, Brazil

ten years ago, the U.S., with 5% of the world's

population, was responsible for 24% of the world's

energy consumption and 30% of the raw materials

consumed, " explained Mike Feinstein, Green Party Mayor

of Santa Monica, California, who is attending the

summit. " Today, the materials we consume has

increased by 10%, prime energy consumption by 21%, and

energy-related carbon dioxide emissions by 13%. The

average world temperatures continue to rise, glaciers

are melting, forest and ocean wildlife are

disappearing, industrial chemicals are poisoning food

supplies even in the most remote regions of the

planet, while the gap between rich and poor continues

to increase, both in developing and industrialized

countries. "

 

A recent report released from the U.N. found that if

the current pattern of development continues, nearly

half of the world's people will suffer from water

shortages within the next 25 years, and the use of

fossils fuels and greenhouse emissions will continue

to grow while the worlds' forests continue to

disappear. The report noted that air pollution kills

three million people a year, one billion people

already lack access to clean water, and the Asian

Brown Cloud, a three kilometer thick layer of smog,

menaces much of South and Southeast Asia.

 

The U.S. Green delegation to the Earth Summit includes

Annie Goeke, co-chair of the party's International

Committee and Mike Feinstein. The Global Greens have

issued a set of five demands for the Earth Summit,

including a halt to the privatization of water, access

to renewable energy sources, and environmental and

social protections overruling trade pacts. (The list

of demands is appended below.)

 

" It is a major concern for us that citizens in the

United States are not governing their own government

like so many other nations, and allowing them to do as

they please, " said Marta Benavides, a U.N. delegate

from El Salvador and Green Party member. " It is time

for the United States people to see themselves as

planetary citizens. "

 

" President Bush is rapidly causing the U.S. to lose

the respect and confidence of the rest of the world, "

said Annie Goeke. " Bush is turning the U.S. into a

rogue state, ripping up the global warming and

antiballistic missile treaties, threatening a

unilateral invasion of Iraq, undermining the

international criminal court, and attempting now to

overrule the agenda of a meeting he refuses to

attend. "

 

 

MORE INFORMATION

 

The Green Party of the United States

http://www.greenpartyus.org

National office: 1314 18th Street, NW

Washington, DC 20036

202-296-7755, 866-41GREEN

 

" Follow the money " , by Ian Willmore of Friends of the

Earth. The Guardian, August 18, 2002.

http://www.observer.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,775212,00.html

 

Center for Responsive Politics

http://www.opensecrets.org

 

Citizens Guide to the World Summit

http://www.citnet.org/worldsummit

 

Index of Green Party candidates in 2002

http://www.greens.org/elections

 

 

* * * * *

 

 

Global Greens Key Demands for the World Summit on

Sustainable Development

Johannesburg 26 August- 4 September 2002 (Rio +10)

 

10 years after the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro,

truly sustainable development remains a

near-impossibility for many countries because of

obstacles caused by wars and conflicts, lack of human

rights, political corruption and non-democratic

governments. For others, sustainable development

requires political will to change the way we live and

co-operate with other nations in order to adopt

polices which put social and ecological justice before

narrow self-interest and economic greed.

 

The list of actions needed is almost infinite,

including the promotion of gender equality, defeating

the HIV/AIDS virus, reversing desertification, and

stopping the destruction of our rainforests.

Nevertheless, all countries have a responsibility to

respond to these challenges and we present our

political leaders with 5 achievable demands for action

at the Rio +10 Johannesburg Summit which will, as a

minimum, contribute to moving our planet and its

people in a sustainable direction.

 

DEMAND 1. 1 billion people do not have access to clean

water and 2.4 billion lack basic sanitation. 3 million

die annually from water-related diseases. The WTO GATS

agreement for trade in services promotes private

corporate control in place of public and governmental

responsibility. Provide affordable access to clean

water sources and basic sanitation. STOP WATER

PRIVATISATION.

 

DEMAND 2. One-third of the world's population (2

billion people) does not have access to adequate

energy services. Public investment in solar power and

other clean energies will reach these people and take

us away from our dependence on fossil-fuels. Provide

affordable access to clean and renewable energy

sources. Set targets and timetables for a substantial

shift to renewables and create an independent

International Renewable Energy Agency to promote this

policy.

 

DEMAND 3. 10 years after Rio, we have international

treaties on climate change (Kyoto), control over trade

in GMOs (Cartegena), exploitation of genetic resources

(Convention on Biological Diversity and FAO treaty),

access to environmental justice and information

(Aarhus), control of fish stocks (UN/FAO Action

plans). None of these is fully implemented or

effective. Consolidate the environmental progress made

since Rio. Ratify and implement these and other green

Treaties now.

 

DEMAND 4. The WTO has a powerful and secretive

disputes settlement mechanism which can over-rule

environmental, social and public policy decisions. It

should be subject to a higher, comprehensive and

independent judicial process. Place environmental and

social rules ahead of trade rules. Transfer the final

power of arbitration from the WTO to an independent

Court.

 

DEMAND 5. Private corporations are not accountable for

the public and social consequences of their business

activities. Voluntary arrangements are not a

satisfactory solution. Create a legal framework for

corporate social and environmental responsibility and

accountability of private corporations.