Yesterday's unedifying spectacle of the US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, being so loudly barracked at the World Summit on Sustainable Development will probably become the most memorable souvenir of this deeply unsatisfactory gathering in Johannesburg.
He seemed to have been somewhat stunned by the reception, but he could hardly have been surprised. There was a palpable sense of anger among delegates in the plenary hall and observers in the public gallery over the obstructive role played by the world's only super-power and its allies, particularly OPEC member-states, during the long hours of negotiations over 10 days in the Sandton Convention Centre. As a result the outcome of this important summit fell well short of what is required to achieve sustainable development.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, deserves credit for his honesty in observing that the Americans have "a terrible habit of trying to unlock things even when they have been agreed". And while the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, talked openly about an "unholy alliance" operating at the summit, she would not specifically identify the Americans and OPEC for ruining the chances of reaching a much more credible deal. This awesomely powerful lobby was not prepared to accept a realistic target to boost renewable energy to 10 per cent of the world market by 2010, 2015 - or any other year.
The 187 countries participating in the summit could not have reached unanimity on every issue on the agenda. Nevertheless, UN spokesmen stressed in advance that Johannesburg would have to produce a credible plan of action to implement commitments made by its member-states at the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro 10 years ago. Yet it has only produced two targets with timetables attached - one on extending basic sanitation to at least half of those without it by 2015, and the other to protect fish stocks, at least in designated areas, by 2012.
Some good may come of more vague commitments on corporate accountability, trade and the environment, agricultural subsidies and eco-system management. Few can disagree with Mr Jan Pronk, the UN Secretary General's special envoy, that the overall outcome was "much, much less than it should have been".
At the root of this relative failure was, as he put it, "the huge gulf between those inside the hall and people's expectations". After all, it is not as if world opinion is ignorant about the problems of grinding poverty and environmental degradation, or does not know what needs to be done about them. This meeting was most useful and valuable for the way it reinforced the determination of non-governmental expert and campaigning groups to press ahead with their activities and improve their networks. What was missing in Johannesburg was the political will to take the strong, concerted action so urgently required to save the planet.