Green campaigners and aid groups were incensed yesterday at the Earth summit's draft plan for tackling global poverty and protecting the environment, saying its vaulting ambitions had been gutted by greed.
But corporate representatives said they thought the deal was fair, and politicians argued they had backed the best available compromise in a complex world of competing interests.
"Nothing for the poor, nothing for the climate," said a joint statement issued by World Wildlife Fund, Oxfam and Greenpeace.
"The Johannesburg world summit will go down in history as a missed opportunity to deliver energy to the two billion people on this planet with no access to energy services, and as a failure to kick-start the renewable energy revolution that is required to protect the climate." The 10-day summit, due to endorse the draft Plan of Implementation at its close today, is officially called the WSSD, the World Summit for Sustainable Development.
But the World Wildlife Fund declared the initials really meant "the World Summit of Shameful Deals". Oxfam's Mr Andrew Hewett said the blame lay with political leaders "well out of step with current world opinion".
"Most them lacked the guts and will to achieve a brave and far-reaching agreement that might have effectively tackled the problems of poverty and the decaying environment. It was within their grasp."
The draft, a raft of non-binding goals, covers action for providing fresh water, sewerage and electricity for the very poor and slowing the planet's loss of biodiversity and depletion of fisheries and forests. But only a few of these aims have a deadline, and details about how they will be achieved are sketchy or larded with escape clauses. In contrast, representatives for big business said the deal was generally sound.
"We are happy there are goals and targets that will allow business to plan ahead," said Mr Richard Holme, deputy chairman of International Business Action for Sustainable Development. Political leaders, for their part, said the compromise was the best that could be expected, given the sprawling agenda and the need for it to be endorsed by consensus.
"The texts have a limited range, perhaps," French President Mr Jacques Chirac said, "but they undoubtedly demonstrate an awareness, and an advance."
EU Environment Commissioner Ms Margot Wallstrom denied the action plan was meaningless. "Extremely important" goals had been established with a deadline of 2015 for providing clean water and sanitation and for improving management of hazardous chemicals. The plan "provides direction for countries and also concrete actions. Don't underestimate the effects of this. You cannot say that from now on the whole sustainable development issue is marginalised, it is there and we have a document to work on."
A dissenting political voice was that of Ecuadoran President Mr Gustavo Noboa, whose country is poor but is also home to the Galapagos Archipelago, a world environmental treasure. "What a difference between words and action," he said. "The biggest polluters are portraying themselves as environmental paragons and do not want to agree to a compromise for saving the planet or adhere to official goals on development aid."
- The chairman of Trócaire, Bishop John Kirby, last night welcomed a restatement by the Taoiseach, in his address to the plenary session of the Earth summit, of the Government's "absolute commitment to achieving by 2007 the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent of GNP on overseas development assistance".
The Taoiseach's commitment followed a call by Bishop Kirby on the Government to clarify reports of a further €8 million cut in the previously announced allocations for aid.