Developing, industrialised countries on collision course

The rift emerged during preparatory meetings that reviewed progress on the implementation of resolutions made at the 1992 UN Conference on Environ­ment and Development.

Chief among the commitments were major cuts in carbon emissions, the provision to developing countries of new and additional finance for sustain­able development objectives and com­mon (but differentiated) environmen­tal conservation responsibilities.
It is understood European Union members are now making spirited efforts for nations in the south to use their respective domestic resources. However, the developing world insists they should fulfill the commitments.

Ministry of Environmental and Nat­ural Resources Management Secretary Ms Florence Nhekairo, who attended one of the crucial meetings, said First World countries are pushing to imple­ment the commitments voluntarily. She said they also want fast-growing economies such as China to assume similar responsibilities apportioned to them. She said steps were being taken to resolve the matter through further engagement.

“We have three major sticking points inasfar as Zimbabwe is concerned. Zimbabwe, being part of a bigger group, the G77, and China, we have a chal­lenge with developed countries having problems renewing commitments that were made 20 years ago,” she said.
“They seem to want to renege and are opposed to the renewal of these com­mitments. Another sticking issue is finance. They committed to provid­ing new and additional finance to facil­itate progress on the sustainable develop­ment agenda. However, they are now saying the world has changed and developing countries should look inter­nally for resources.”

Ms Nhekairo said the concerned nations were trying to duck responsibil­ity by bringing China into the picture.
“We (developing countries) have had to do much more in looking after the environment than developed countries . . .They are saying there are more play­ers, like

China, who need to take part in the same manner as the north. But that is not the principle we agreed on 20 years ago!”
Zimbabwe’s permanent United Nations representative, Ambassador Chitsaka Chipaziwa, said industri­alised nations were being arrogant.
He said there was need for the world to co-operate for the good of humanity.