Speaker 1

The U.S. Government has reconsidered its arguments regarding the topic climate change since the number of hurricanes that perform their dance in California increases from year to year, and scientists everywhere assess unusual weather events. In the past, it always had been said that there was no evidence for a relationship between air pollution and global warming. Now, in the US Action Report 2002, they simply recommend to get used to the unavoidable results of the climate warming. One may have difficulties with the recommendation of the U.S. Government presumably to calmness in China where currently 10 million people are threatened by high tides. Due to the air pollution, the rhythm of the monsoon rain has changed, according to the UNO. More and more inundations in the region are the consequence. Already 1,000 people have drowned in China alone within the last weeks. Environmental protection organizations push to quick action in the area of climate protection. Discussions about to which extent mankind boosts the warming are a waste of time. One must no longer be able to frivolously disregard the storms, inundations or droughts.

Speaker 2

These are quite clear signs that something rapidly changes. The erratic weather events, the storms, for example Lothar in Central Europe some years ago, and now these inundations arrive with a higher frequency. In the region of the Alps: I just recently have been in a valley of the Alps which was concerned very strongly of avalanche events which no longer had been known this way since more than 50 years. This may happen every 50 years. But, if the event suddenly happens every tenths year, then this is a sign anyway that something funny happens. And one must assume that there is a relationship with the global climate change.

Speaker 1

During the latest UN conference for Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro 10 years ago, the international community of the Nations agreed that the emergency brake had to be pulled on. Only the “how” had been left open at this mega-union ennobled to a top summit with 30,000 participants.  The speeches of the 170 representatives of Nations and Governments at the time turned out quite non-committal though.

Since Rio, much valuable time has passed unused. Only a paper mountain remains from the common program of the Agenda 21 which had been agreed upon. To this day, these three internationally binding Rio-Conventions on Desertification, on the Protection of the Biological Diversity and Climate Protection partly not even have been signed. The quarrel about Climate Protection went into the next round in the Japanese Kyoto only five years later. In 1997, the Industrial Nations committed themselves to reduce important greenhouse gases by 5.2 per cent under the level from 1990 up to the year 2012, at that time. Meanwhile, the Kyoto protocol has been strongly diluted. The USA, the biggest polluter, even have left last year.

Speaker 2

The primary failure is at the level of the Governments themselves. The Governments have approved to these Conventions, actually. And of course, one must differentiate. There are Governments which still today are struggling quite in public and are even proud of it like the Americans, with the Bush Administration. This is actually a very, very serious setback for the Kyoto protocol. We certainly hope that nevertheless it will be ratified this year, if the Russians and the Japanese just contribute their consent, so that at least this instrument may start to exist. Of course, it is by far not adequate to fight the climate change. But without this international legal framework, there still would happen even less.

Speaker 1

Air pollution already has become a noticeable threat in many parts of the world. A layer of dirt, several kilometers thick, is hanging over Southeast Asia for weeks. According to the UNO, it reduces the solar radiation up to 15 per cent, entails harvest failures and is responsible for serious respiratory tract diseases.

At present, the sun doesn't rise often over the Indian Taj Mahal for days any more. Keyword desert convention: More than a billion people in 110 countries are threatened of drought and progressive desertification meanwhile. Almost two billion people don't have access to clean drinking water. About two thirds of the agricultural productive farmlands have withered in the South of Africa which area is particularly concerned. Drought and mismanagement have taken the region to an almost hopeless position. 13 million people presumably won't survive in Malawi, Zambia and other Countries of South Africa without international food help this year.

Not far away from this crisis region, next week there will be a Summit with the topics Environment and Development once again. Up to 60,000 delegates will storm the Summit in Johannesburg. The main emphasis this time: Sustainability. According to UNO this means to increase the improvement on the quality of life for all people on the earth without the resource consumption beyond the limits of natural capacity.

In Johannesburg, the simple awareness shall gain general acceptance, that all of us sit in the same boat, to express it briefly; for example, as to the fishing topic, an economic sector which presently is completely disregarding the criteria of sustainability. Europe doesn't play an insignificant role in this.

Speaker 2

If we would be able to modify the existing fishing subsidies, so that no more capacities are exported to Africa, in particular at the West African coast, in order to empty the oceans of fish in areas formerly rather rich in fish, where the local population strongly suffers from this. One actually creates unemployment by means of European subsidies at the West African coast there, destroying local old fishing cultures which have used these fish populations in artisanale way. That would be a quite concrete contribution to the sustainable development of West Africa.

Speaker 1

There are many hopes that have fallen by the wayside between Rio and Johannesburg.  At the celebrations of the completion of the Summit, ten years ago, children have dug in the earth from 50 nations next to the new peace monument. However, a compensation between poor and rich countries largely remained symbolic.