Malta optimistic and active at World Summit

I remain cautiously optimistic that the World Summit on Sustainable Development will end in success on Wednesday," George Pullicino, Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment and deputy leader of the Maltese delegation, told The Sunday Times yesterday.

"But that is if the goodwill now prevailing in negotiations is actually transposed into real agreement," he added.

While protest marches against globalisation and landlessness in South Africa converge on the Summit venue over the weekend, delegates of the 190 nations represented here are meeting far into the night to attempt to break deadlocks over major issues of trade, finance, agricultural and export subsidies, corporate accountability, energy, poverty, water and environmental protection (These issues have been exhaustively debated at four preparatory conferences since December 2000, and since delegates arrived here on August 23.)

Agreed texts contained in a Political Declaration and a Programme of Implementation are scheduled to be presented for formal adoption by the 109 heads of state and government arriving for the high-level segment starting tomorrow.

"As co-ordinator of the Central Group of EU candidate and future applicant states, along with Hungary and Turkey, I have a CG spokesman in the six-group negotiations at ministerial level - known as the 'Johannesburg process'," Mr Pullicino said.

"Other groups include the EU, the US, the Group of 77 (developing countries), Eastern European States and the JUSCANZ (Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand). The Central Group meets daily with the EU to exchange information and co-ordinate positions. I am proud that the Group was able to make a procedural proposal on Thursday night which staved off a possible collapse of the negotiations.

"Next (this) week, Lawrence Gonzi, the Deputy Prime Minister, will be addressing the Summit, attending a number of high-level official functions and meeting the Prime Minister of Australia.

"I will be present at several major events. These include a high-level meeting between EU and Central Group countries, another between EU and Mediterranean states, the launching of the EU Water Initiative and a roundtable of Mediterranean Ministers during an outstanding side event on sustainability in our region. I will also be speaking at the Fourth Summit of the Association of Small Island States today."

Mr Pullicino will make a formal presentation of the results of the World Summit to the next meeting of the National Council on Sustainable Development on October 7. "The Summit outcome will give an impetus to NCSD to align our agenda with global trends in sustainable development," he said.

"However much people complain about Malta's situation, in particular as regards the environment, our problems are really minor compared to those faced by many countries."

Mr Pullicino's optimism does not seem to be shared by either Professor Arnold Cassola, secretary of the European Greens Party, or Vince Attard, president of Nature Trust, and representing civil society organisations in the Maltese delegation.

"The Summit is a circus," Dr Cassola told The Sunday Times: "Along with other European Greens, I have been visiting vast slums just near the conference centre, and highly dangerous and polluted coal mines to see the reality of poverty and underdevelopment.

"The Greens are extremely worried about the possible use of EU taxpayers' money on nuclear energy development and big dam construction in poor countries implied in the EU Energy Initiative," he stated, "as well as a retreat from the 'precautionary principle' agreed in Rio ten years ago.

"The probable Summit outcome seems unlikely to make much difference either to the poor or the environment".

In a press release, Mr Attard stated: "Maltese organisations emphasise the need for solid targets, deadlines and financial commitments from the Summit.

"NGOs worldwide are worried about the alarming rates at which biodiversity is degrading, climate change, environmentally damaging subsidies, environmental justice and other problems. We are deeply concerned at how little has been achieved since the last world Summit in Rio."

Indications emerging from the negotiations however were that the price of success was the setting aside of many targets and timetables advocated by the EU, or of financial commitments urged by the developing countries.