GLOBAL VILLAGE NATIONAL CONFERENCE

                                                                               Beijing

                                                                        20 May 2002

                                                    PEOPLE, PLANET, PROSPERITY:
                                    THE ROUTE TO JOHANNESBURG AND BEYOND



Introduction

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am delighted to be back in Beijing once again. I am particularly pleased to be here today because I believe that civil society has a key role to play in helping us to achieve sustainable development.

It is only by working in partnership – industry, Governments and NGOs – that we can tackle some of the problems facing the world today – improving the environment, promoting world trade, tackling poverty.

You are helping to promote awareness of the forthcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

I have just come from a seminar with President Mbeki in South Africa to discuss preparations for the Summit.

The UK attaches great importance to the Summit. My Prime Minister, Tony Blair, will attend the Summit and has called on other world leaders to do so as well.

That is crucial if we are to make Johannesburg a success.

Globalisation

Ladies and gentlemen, the international community is at a turning point.

Since the tragedy of September 11th we have had to face new and unprecedented challenges.

The alliance we have forged against terrorism has shown that in the new global economy, all of us, the richest countries and the poorest, are linked by common interests and needs, especially for security.

There is growing agreement that we must work together to fight both terrorism and the causes of terrorism.

We must do so because it is right but also because it is in our interests.

I believe that globalisation – or the rise of the global community – provides us with a great opportunity to create a more peaceful and secure world.

We need to capture the same energy, commitment and political will that the world has shown in tackling global terrorism and direct it to deal with global poverty.

Some critics say that globalisation is a force for evil. They believe it marginalises and exploits the weak for the benefit of the strong.

But in reality there is a lot of common ground.

They, like us, want action against global poverty.

They, like us, want to see a fairer and more just global community.

They, like us, want to see the environment protected.

The difference is that we believe that can only be achieved by global consensus. By making globalisation work for good.

Like it or not, globalisation is here to stay. The question is not whether we want it but how it is managed, what values drive it and how we make sure that everyone benefits.

Managed badly it will bring political instability, environmental degradation, social exclusion, growing inequality between nations and increasing resentment, particularly in developing countries.

But managed well, it can lift millions out of poverty and be a force for social justice.

It has already brought many benefits. Since 1970:

- life expectancy in developing countries has increased by almost 10 years;

- child mortality has almost halved; and

- the proportion of illiterate people has reduced by a quarter.

In the last ten years alone the number of extreme poor has declined by nearly 20 million.

So there has been some progress.

But it has passed by millions of others who have been excluded from these benefits.

A billion people still live on less than a dollar a day and the same number have no access to safe drinking water.

One child dies every 10 seconds from water-borne disease – since I began this speech 20 children have died simply because they lack clean water.

One in five children never go to school and almost one billion adults can’t read or write. They don’t have the very skills that could enable them to escape from poverty.

Preventable diseases kill 7 million children every year.

This is an unacceptable situation for any civilised society. We need to take action now to reduce global inequality.

As Kofi Annan said recently – “poor people in poor countries are not looking for a hand out. What they want is a hand up”.

Globalisation creates the opportunity for us to provide that hand up.

But further progress will depend on political will, and on the commitment of governments and peoples across the world.

The search for global solutions is not new.

We saw the first Earth Summit take place thirty years ago in Stockholm.

Twenty years later we saw the UN Conference on Environment and Development at Rio.

A huge amount has been achieved over the last 10 years, particularly on climate change with the agreement of the Kyoto Protocol, in which I was privileged to play a part. But there is much more to do.

Action in China

China itself has made huge strides in tackling environmental issues. Even though China has no legally binding commitments to tackle climate change, you are cutting pollution and reducing emissions.

I have long argued that China needs to do more to explain to the rest of the world the action you are taking. I am therefore very pleased that the Chinese government has published its booklet on climate change which sets out clearly that China is already doing more to tackle climate change than the United States.

You have removed subsidies from coal, and coal use is declining.

Oil and gas are used more and more to meet energy needs.

There is huge investment in renewable energy.

A massive tree-planting programme is under way – China has over 50 million hectares of man-made forest, the highest amount anywhere in the world.

You have closed down thousands of factories for pollution offences. Here in Beijing, I can see that air quality is improving as heavy industry is moved out of the centre and transport pollution is being tackled.

As I know from earlier discussions with Premier Zhu Rongji, the importance of the environment is recognised at the highest levels.

But now we all need to move beyond just tackling pollution or climate change. Johannesburg will address a much wider agenda.

The Path to Johannesburg

The Johannesburg Summit will build on the important series of international conferences that have taken place in the twelve months since September 11th .

In November last year the World Trade Organisation Conference in Doha opened the door to increased world trade and greater prosperity for all.

Then the Financing for Development Conference in Monterrey looked at how the world community could fund sustainable development in the poorest countries.

We saw very welcome commitments to increase aid from both the EU and the US.

So both Doha and Monterrey recognised the principle established at Rio of common but differentiated responsibility.

We could call that principle the traditional values of Rio.

I believe we need to reassert those values at Johannesburg and place them in a modern setting.

By that I mean two things:

First, Rio recognised that sustainable development was about more than the environment.

But in many ways we have lost sight of that.

Johannesburg can make its landmark contribution by recommitting to the traditional Rio values in a modern setting and by strongly reaffirming that environmental protection is only one of the three mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development:

- not just environmental protection, but also
- economic growth and
- social development.

So that is the first principle I’d like to see come out of Johannesburg – traditional Rio values in a modern setting.

Second, and leading on from that is the principle of progressive universalism.

That is the phrase we have used in Britain to describe our approach to tackling poverty and social exclusion.

That means we must strive for progress for everybody. But we must not forget those that are worst off. The worst off need more help than the rest of us. So the principle – Progressive Universalism – means greater prosperity for everyone with more for those that need it most.

It means helping the worst off to raise their incomes, provide schooling for their children, improve healthcare for the sick and needy and provide access to clean energy and water.

The Summit

So what should we – and you – be seeking from Johannesburg?

One thing is certain. Now is not the time for new conventions or agreements. We have plenty of those already.

As Kofi Annan said to me during a recent visit to London - Rio gave us the “what”, Johannesburg must give us the “how”.

Put another way, I think we could say that while Rio was about “negotiation”, Johannesburg should be about “implementation”.

Now is the time to kick-start the process of delivery. To build on the momentum that already exists and take those next crucial steps towards our goal.

Johannesburg should pull together the threads of trade, finance and the environment. It must combine them in a way which will ensure that the world moves towards a fairer and more sustainable future.

Details for Johannesburg

Johannesburg will produce three documents:

- the political declaration
- the plan of action and
- the framework for implementation, containing what are known as Type I and Type II initiatives.

If all goes well, the Plan of Action will be agreed at the Ministerial meeting in Bali in June. It is a comprehensive description of the elements of sustainable development.

At Bali work will also begin on the political declaration. The political declaration should be the springboard to turn intentions into reality.



It should:

- endorse the idea that globalisation can be a force for good and for sustainable development;

- give the same commitment to fight against poverty that we have given for the fight against terrorism

- reaffirm the traditional Rio values in a modern setting

- establish the principle of progressive universalism

- reaffirm the three mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development

- reaffirm our commitment to Agenda 21 and the Millennium Development Goals

- put in place a route map form Johannesburg to the Millennium Development Goals in 2015 and

- establish a review and reporting process in order to check on progress and ensure the Millennium Development Goals are met.

The route map and the review are particularly important.

We already have targets and timetables in place in the form of the Millennium Development Goals, and the various timetables for the different international conventions and protocols such as Kyoto and the Biodiversity Convention.

The Commission on Sustainable Development established at Rio was designed to bring all these together. But frankly, it has not given the process the political priority it requires.

I think, therefore, that we should consider a process for the Secretary General of the United Nations to produce a report, say every five years, to monitor our progress across the board on all three pillars of sustainable development.

Finally I want to say something about the framework for implementation.

Kofi Annan made a speech last week in order to help orientate the debate before Johannesburg..

He has been working hard to turn President Mbeki’s priorities of ‘People, Planet, Prosperity’ into concrete actions.

He has suggested five areas for all of us – governments, NGOs and business – to devote our energy to. The five areas he has suggested are:
- water
- energy
- health
- agriculture and
- biodiversity.

He has given some ideas on how each of these can be taken forward and I think they form a good basis for the framework for implementation for Johannesburg.

The really exciting thing about the framework for implementation is the so-called Type II initiatives where governments, NGOs and business can work in partnership.

I believe that is the secret for making lasting improvements – you can’t achieve that unless you harness the talent and energy of people themselves.

For example, we must improve short-term access to priority resources like energy and water, but at the same time we need to:

- make sure the technology is appropriate to local situations and environments;

- train the people to use the technology;

- make sure we reduce waste and pollution; and

- make sure there is good governance to sustain continuing success and delivery.

Development must go beyond the simple provision of financial aid or infrastructure. It must take a comprehensive, holistic approach and involve businesses, NGOs and the community it seeks to help.

Achieving that will be the lasting achievement of Johannesburg.

What Does it Mean for NGOs

That is why your involvement in Johannesburg is so crucial.

Partnership between government, NGOs and business is central to the Summit itself and future implementation.

In the UK, our NGOs have played an enormously important role in preparations for Johannesburg and have made a real impact on our objectives and expectations – just as they played such an important role in the Kyoto negotiations.

We are still considering some of the actions we might want to promote at Johannesburg. But I am clear that community-based organisations like yours will have a crucial role to play in helping us to deliver the Millennium Development Goals.

Conclusion

Before I close I would just like to reflect for a moment on the task the international community has set itself.

With almost 200 countries in the world, there are 200 voices to be heard, all with their own priorities.

We need to take care how we negotiate the stepping stones from Doha and Monterrey to Johannesburg.

Johannesburg is about continuing the momentum. That is more important than any single detail or idea. We just want to keep moving forward, broadening the agenda from a purely environmental focus to the three pillars of sustainability.

We are experiencing a period of unparalleled global prosperity. Never have so many people enjoyed the fruits of that prosperity. But at the same time there are billions suffering in poverty.

There is no great debate about how to tackle that poverty. We all know that we must help those who are suffering and that we can afford to do so. And we must do so if ‘globalisation’ is to be a force for good.

No previous generation has had the opportunity to do what we could – if we have the political will.

I believe we can build a global economy that leaves no one behind.

It’s about fairness.

It’s about social justice.

It’s about faith in simply humanity and respect for our fellow beings.

It’s about our people, our planet and our prosperity.

I believe this new century can give unprecedented peace and prosperity. Not only for the people of our planet but for their children and their children’s children. That opportunity is here now and it is our duty to seize it.