A chorus of world leaders formally opened the final - and crucial - stage of the Earth Summit yesterday with lofty calls to secure the future of the planet, even as their negotiators continue to argue over details of the blueprint for the task.
South African President Thabo Mbeki, appealed for a last-minute push for a deal for on poverty and the environment. "The matter rests with all of us gathered here," said Mr Mbeki.
"The progress [the ministers] have achieved . . . should enable us to take the necessary decisions that will make it possible for us to emerge from this summit with a concrete plan of action that will give meaning to our theme - People, Planet and Prosperity," he said. "Nothing whatsoever can justify any failure on our part to respond to this expectation."
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder promised a billion euros to help developing countries gain access to clean, efficient energy. He said there were clear signs that man-made global warming had now affected the world's climate.
"There has been a dramatic increase in extreme weather conditions and it shows one thing very clearly, that climate change is no longer a sceptical forecast only, it is a reality, wherever we are on a global scale, in all of the continents and nearly in all countries by now," Mr Schröder said. "What is at stake here is the natural resources of our life." Germany would be a major donor in efforts to help poorer countries. "Germany will develop its successful co-operation with developing countries in the field of energy and will turn it into a truly strategic partnership," he said.
"This co-operation is going to be funded by Germany by a good €500 million over the next five years, and another €500 million are going to be spent for an increase in energy efficiency and energy use efficiency too," he said.
The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, said the world faced "catastrophe" unless greenhouse gas emissions were curbed. "We know the problems. A child in Africa dies every three seconds from famine, disease or conflict. We know that if climate change is not stopped all parts of the world will suffer, some will even be destroyed. And we know the solution - sustainable development, so the issue for this summit is the political will," he said.
He repeated the British government's commitment to raise aid to £1 billion a year, saying: "Africa for me is a passion. This summit has to set a clear direction for the future for our world. This summit means the whole world facing up to the challenge of climate change." French President Jacques Chirac called for an international solidarity tax to fight world poverty. "Let us seek new forms of funding, for example a solidarity tax on the riches generated by globalisation," said Mr Chirac. "It could be a tax on airplane tickets, on carbon dioxide, on health products sold in industrialised countries, and indeed on international financial transactions."
President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who was elected promising to challenge Venezuela's wealthy blamed "neo-liberalism" for the world's woes. "We must confront the elites," he said. "I wish to ask - what development are we talking about? Every minute thousands are dying of hunger due to neo-liberalism. Let us recognise the truth and take action. Neo-liberalism is the guilty party. This model has to change."