The draft text outlined on the opening days of the Rio+20 Summit in Brazil has “gaping holes”, according to environmental group Friends of the Earth.
The environmental group is calling on world leaders in Rio to pledge tough and urgent action, including reversing tax-breaks for fossil fuels and increasing support for renewables here at home.
The UK’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will address the United Nations sustainable development conference today.
“[He] must highlight gaping holes in the text of the draft Rio deal and promise genuine UK leadership at home,” says campaigns and policy director Craig Bennett.
“The current deal on the Rio table is really scraping the barrel – with woolly definitions, old ideas and missing deadlines, it doesn’t come close to solving the planetary emergency we’re facing.”
The current 49-page document, which is likely to be agreed tomorrow, emphasises the need for technology transfer to enable developing nations move forward sustainably, but contains no pledges of funds to help.
The text, entitled The Future We Want, does include commitment to encourage carbon reporting and set sustainable development goals, is a step in the right direction, according to other green NGOs.
But while the draft text may not include any concrete pledges at the moment, the world’s six largest multilateral development banks (MDBs) have endorsed it.
Currently, the World Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank and Inter-American Development Bank have provided over $93 billion annually over the last five years in development finance.
“We are all about action in support of countries to achieve growth that is inclusive and green,” says Rachel Kyte, the World Bank’s vice president of sustainable development. “This will be the core business of the MDBs going forward.”
For further information:
www.foe.co.uk
www.worldbank.org/
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Political and business leaders call for action to save climate and economy (19-Jun)
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Article source: http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/5202/
