Foster JB - A Planetary Defeat - The Failure of Global Environmental Reform

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1、ROM.JAN.qxd12/16/0210:46AMPage1REVIEWOFTHEMONTHAPlanetaryDefeat:TheFailureofGlobalEnvironmentalReformJOHNBELLAMYFOSTERThefirstEarthSummitinRiodeJaneiro,Brazilin1992generatedhopesthattheworldwouldatlonglastaddressitsglobalecologicalprob-lemsandintroduceapro

2、cessofsustainabledevelopment.Now,withasecondsummitbeingheldtenyearslaterinJohannesburg,thatdreamhastoalargeextentfaded.EventheprincipalsupportersofthisprocesshavemadeitclearthattheydonotexpectmuchtobeachievedasaresultoftheJohannesburgsummit,whichislikelyto

3、godowninhistoryasanabsolutefailure.Weneedtoaskourselveswhy.Thefirstreasonisperhapsthemostobvious,atleasttoenvironmen-talists.ThedecadebetweenRioandJohannesburghasseenthealmostcompletefailureoftheRioEarthSummitanditsAgenda21toproducemeaningfulresults.Thisha

4、shighlightedtheweaknessesofglobalenvi-ronmentalsummitry.Second,theU.S.refusaltoratifytheKyotoProtocolandtheConventiononBiologicalDiversity—thetwomainconventionsevolvingoutofRio—hasraisedquestionsaboutthecapacityofcapitalismtoaddresstheworldenvironmentalcri

5、sis.TheUnitedStates,asthehege-monicpowerofthecapitalistsystem,furthersignaleditsrejectionofglobalenvironmentalreformbyannouncingthatPresidentBushwouldnotbeattendingtheJohannesburgsummit.Third,boththerapidglobalizationoftheneoliberalagendainthe1990sandtheem

6、ergenceofamassiveantiglobalizationmovementinSeattleinNovember1999havehighlightedthesystem’santagonismtowardallattemptstopromoteeconomicandenvironmentaljustice.ThisarticleisreconstructedfromthenotesforseveraltalksdeliveredinJohannesburg,SouthAfricaduringeve

7、ntsleadinguptotheWorldSummitonSustainableDevelopment,August-September2002.1ROM.JAN.qxd12/16/0210:46AMPage22MONTHLYREVIEW/JANUARY2003Fourth,theWorldSummitonSustainableDevelopmentisoccurringinaperiodofeconomicandfinancialcrisisthatbodesillforthosecon-cernedw

8、iththeissuesoftheenvironmentandthirdworlddevelopment.Thecapitalistworldeconomyasawholeisexperiencingglobalrecession.HardesthitarethecountriesoftheglobalSouth,which—thankstoneoliberalglobalization—arecaughtinw