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Environment Matters

September 4, 2002
https://p.dw.com/p/2auR
The Earth Summit in Rio in 1992 is seen by many as a milestone in international environmental diplomacy, and was even dubbed at the time as the mother of all global conferences.

The big question now is whether the UN Summit on Sustainable Development taking place in Johannesburg from August 26 to September 4, 2002 will emulate the landmark Rio conference that produced conventions on climate change and Agenda 21 - a blueprint for sustainable development.

As far as logisitics are concerned, the Johannesburg summit has already exceeded the first earth summit. It’s being billed as the largest United Nations gathering ever -- with over 65,000 delegates, 5,000 journalists, over 200 non-governmental organisations and 106 heads of state.

But it remains to be seen whether world leaders gathered in Johannesburg will get past mere talking and come up with concrete proposals and solutions aimed at relieving poverty and healing the planet.

While matters ranging from global warming, renewable energies, agricultural subsidies, the gap between rich and the poor, development aid among others are thrashed out in Johannesburg, we take a look at some of the dominant and lesser-known issues both at the summit and on the sidelines.

Skip next section Reports & Analysis

Reports & Analysis

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back at Johannesburg Summit

As the Johannesburg summit draws to a close, leaders have reached a major deal on clean water. But a plan to expand renewable energies promoted by Germany has been watered down.
September 4, 2002

Battling For Fairness

On the second day of the Johannesburg summit, it's becoming clear that non-governmental organizations and developing countries are facing a tough opponent in industrialized nations, as our DW-RADIO correspondent reports.
September 3, 2002

Footing The Development Bill

The proportion of gross national product that wealthy industrial nations spend on development has fallen over the past decades. But there are other options to finance such assistance.
August 27, 2002

On the Green Road from Rio to Johannesburg

The UN summit in Johannesburg next week has been dubbed "Rio + 10" or "Earth Summit 2". But what has happened to the lofty promises made at Rio? Has the global environment changed for the better in the past ten years?
August 28, 2002

Steering Environmental Issues Back on the Political Agenda

Klaus Töpfer has directed the U.N. Environmental Program since 1998. In an interview with DW-WORLD, Germany’s former environmental minister explains how environmental issues can get back on the world’s political agenda.
August 4, 2002

Earth Summit Enters Decisive Phase

Ministers of the more than 100 countries taking part in the earth summit arrive this weekend for the crucial final phase of the 10-day conference. Among them is German Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin.
August 31, 2002

Cooking With The Sun

While delegates at the Earth Summit which kicks off on Monday are looking at how sustainable development can be put into practice, Germany’s development agency GTZ is already doing this in over 2 000 projects worldwide.
August 26, 2002

German Chancellor Weighs in at Earth Summit

Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, in a quick appearance at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, pushed for the increased use of renewable energy and demanded a practical final agreement by the end of the conference.
September 3, 2002

Business Leaders Discuss Summit Goals

While protestors march past the Earth Summit’s convention centre in Johannesburg, business leaders of the some of the world’s biggest corporations get together with political leaders for talks.
September 1, 2002

World Summit Opens With EU, US at Odds

The World Summit on Sustainable Development begins on Monday in Johannesburg, South Africa, amid a growing rift on the environment between Europe and the US.
August 26, 2002

German Minister Keeps his Faith in Upcoming Earth Summit

Will the much-awaited Earth Summit in Johannesburg yield results? German environment minister Trittin is hopeful despite growing differences between the EU, the US and the developing world.
July 17, 2002

Environmentalists Say Summit a Huge Letdown

Environmentalists in Germany say agreements reached in Johannesburg are so watered-down that they actually set the clock back on poverty eradication and the environment.
September 4, 2002
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