VYATSK STATE
HUMANITIES UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF CHEMISTRY
DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES ON THE ENVIRONMENT
COURSE WORK
COMPLETED
STUDENT
GROUPS E-31(2)
GOREVOY TATYANA
MIKHAILOVNA
RESEARCH SUPERVISOR
KUZNITSYN M. A.
Plan
I. Basic international legal documents in the field of environmental protection.
II. Stockholm Environment Conference 1972:
1) from awareness to decision making;
2) Stockholm Declaration.
III. 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro:
1) positions of the countries participating in Rio-92;
2) preamble to Agenda 21;
4) results of the conference.
IV. UN World Conference on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg 2002:
1) brief description of the Summit;
2) speech by the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation M.M. Kasyanova;
3) Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development.
V. UN conferences and their role in environmental protection.
Basic international legal documents in the field of environmental protection
The main goal of environmental protection is ultimately to establish harmony between the development of mankind and the favorable state of the environment. Achieving this goal in a theoretical aspect requires answering a number of complex questions, such as: 1) to what extent changes in the quality of the environment, occurring under the influence of human development, threaten the physical existence of humanity itself; 2) are people able to prevent the onset of an environmental crisis; 3) what needs to be done to solve the problem of environmental protection and guarantee the human right to a favorable environment? Nature does not recognize state and administrative boundaries, and the efforts of one or more states cannot prevent an environmental crisis and produce tangible results in this area. Understanding these processes dictates trends and principles of environmental protection. The main international legal sources in the field of environmental protection include international conventions, treaties, agreements, resolutions and documents of international organizations regarding environmental protection and rational use of natural resources. The most important place in this series is given to resolutions of the UN General Assembly. Environmental law is closely related to maritime, nuclear, space and other branches of international law. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 1948, did not explicitly address people's rights to a healthy natural environment, which was consistent with the relatively weak negative impacts of the environment on human health and popular attitudes at the time. It seemed quite sufficient to establish human rights to the protection of life and health. On December 18, 1962, the resolution “Economic Development and Nature Conservation” was adopted, which approved the initiative and recommendations proposed by UNESCO. This resolution highlighted three main provisions:
firstly, a holistic consideration of the totality of the environment, natural resources of flora and fauna;
secondly, the integration of the term “nature conservation” into the broader term “environmental protection”;
thirdly, the concept of an organic combination of the interests of nature conservation and economic development.
Then, on December 3, 1968, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution emphasizing the essential role of a good environment for respect for fundamental human rights and proper economic and social development. The evolution of views in this area has been accompanied by fierce debate and debate. Thus, the American scientist Norman E. Borlaug, a Nobel Prize laureate who received it for his contribution to the “green revolution,” opposed the ban on DDT and other toxic chemicals, criticizing calls for limiting interference in the environment. He declares that without thinking twice, the so-called "protectors" of nature and the environment, as well as ill-informed people working in the media, began a crusade to get agricultural chemicals - pesticides and fertilizers - banned. Miguel A. Oscorio de Almeira, head of the Brazilian delegation to the Stockholm conference, questioned the validity of environmental concerns. The gist of his speech was as follows. We are threatened with the melting of polar ice, which will be followed by the flooding of many large cities. We are threatened with depletion of oxygen reserves on earth caused by excessive oxygen consumption. We are threatened with cancer. We are threatened with hunger. Listening to all these terrible prophecies, it is reasonable to ask the question: how great is their likelihood and how soon can all this happen? As for the timing of the fulfillment of these prophecies, if we are talking about the next decade, it is necessary to take some action. If, however, we have another hundred years, then we have time to expand and deepen our knowledge, and therefore reduce the risk of possible mistakes in solving this problem. If it’s hundreds of thousands or millions of years, then let’s just forget about it - that’s the conclusion he draws. For the first time, the principles of international environmental cooperation were summarized in the Declaration of the United Nations Stockholm Conference on Environmental Problems in 1972. This document, in the form of a preamble, first contains discussions about the essence and causes of the global environmental problem, which explain the need for a new direction of international cooperation - cooperation in the field of environmental protection environment. Then 26 principles are formulated, starting with the proclamation of the fundamental one - the human right to live in an environment, “the quality of which makes possible a dignified and prosperous way of life.” The next step in systematizing international legal principles of environmental protection and environmental management was the World Charter for Nature (WCN), which was approved by the UN General Assembly and solemnly proclaimed in a resolution dated October 28, 1982. Like other ordinary resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the above declarations do not have binding legal force and are advisory in nature. But their significance is very great, since they were adopted directly by the UN General Assembly, which has the highest authority, personifying the will of all mankind. Unlike the Stockholm Declaration, the World Charter for Nature was adopted and solemnly proclaimed by voting. Of the 130 states whose representatives participated in the meeting of the UN General Assembly when considering this issue, 111 states voted for the resolution, 18 abstained and one state - the United States - voted against. The content of the World Charter for Nature contains a certain repetition of the principles of the Stockholm Declaration. But in some ways it goes further along the path of generalization of international legal principles of environmental protection and rational use of natural resources. This can be seen from a comparison of a number of provisions of the Declaration and the Charter. In September 1980, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution “On the historical responsibility of states for preserving the nature of the Earth for present and future generations.” The resolution calls on all states and peoples to take concrete measures to reduce armaments and develop measures to protect the environment. In the latest understanding, the principles of international cooperation in the field of environmental protection are set out in the Declaration on Environment and Development, which was unanimously adopted by the participants at the UN conference held in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). The Rio Declaration states that the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, having been convened from 3 to 14 June 1992, reaffirming the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on Environment adopted in Stockholm on 16 June 1972, and seeking to develop It aims to establish a new, equitable global partnership by creating new levels of cooperation between States, key sectors of society and people, working to achieve international agreements that respect the interests of all and protect the integrity of the global environment and development system, recognizing the integrated and interdependent nature Earth, our home. According to the legal and semantic meaning, the declared principles of environmental protection can be divided into nine groups, at the head of which it is necessary to determine the principles that affirm the right of citizens to a favorable environment, although 20 years ago priority was given to the sovereignty of states on the use of natural resources and environmental protection.
So, first group includes principles that reinforce the priorities of human rights to a favorable environment and sustainable development. Caring for people is central to efforts to achieve sustainable development. People have the right to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature. The right to development must be realized to ensure that the development and environmental needs of present and future generations are equitably met. To achieve sustainable development, environmental protection must be an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it. Principle 2 of the Stockholm Declaration declares that the Earth's natural resources, including air, water, land, flora and fauna, and especially representative examples of natural ecosystems, should be conserved for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning and management as appropriate.
Where and when did the 1st UN Environment Conference take place?
First UN Conference on Environment took place in 1972 in Stockholm. It became political when Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme accused the United States of using defoliants in Vietnam and demanded that “the environmental war be stopped immediately.” That same year, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) was established to monitor the environment and coordinate acceptable environmental protection measures. In 1987, preparations began for the Meeting of the Earth conference, later called the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).
The first UN Conference on the Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972, became a historical event that marked the turn of the vast majority of developed countries to an active environmental policy, the intensification of public environmental movements, and the beginning of broad international cooperation in solving environmental problems. The opening day of this conference, June 5, is celebrated as World Environment Day.
The Conference adopted a Declaration on the Environment and an Action Plan in this area.
Twenty years after Stockholm, the UN Conference on Environment and Development took place in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. The forum attracted a record number of participants: 179 states sent a total of 8 thousand delegates to Brazil.
What differences emerged between developed and developing countries at the UN conference in Rio de Janeiro?
In 2011, it will be 19 years since the summit meeting in Rio de Janeiro of the leaders of 179 states, including Russia, when the most important documents were adopted to change the direction of the further development of earthly civilization.
Some calm in relations between developed and developing countries after the UN Conference in Rio de Janeiro quickly gave way to irritation of the latter and growing confrontation: the promises of the leaders of developed countries were not followed by corresponding actions. The allocation of funds to support the transition of developing countries to sustainable development has not increased, but has decreased, with a significant part of the allocated funds being used by developed countries themselves, and the rest ending up in the pockets of corrupt officials in developing countries. The external debt of developing countries continues to grow rapidly.
By seeking the opening of the national borders of other countries under the slogan of free trade and internationalization of production, developed countries (especially the United States) pursue, first of all, their national interests.
The conference stated the impossibility of developing countries moving along the path by which developed countries arrived at their prosperity. This model leads to disaster. In this regard, the need was recognized for the world community to transition to the path of sustainable development, ensuring the solution of socio-economic problems and the preservation of the environment, satisfying the basic life needs of the current generation and preserving such opportunities for future generations.
Humanity, as emphasized at the Conference, can make a revolutionary transition to a new partnership type of relationship in the world, to a new nature of production and consumption, only if all layers of society in all countries realize the absolute necessity of such a transition and will contribute to it in every possible way.
The world's population today is about 6.3 billion people. It has increased over the past 10 years by more than a billion, and by 2025, according to forecasts, it will reach 9-10 billion people. The population of developing countries is growing rapidly and today accounts for 3/4 of the planet's population, but it consumes only 1/3 of global production, and the gap in per capita consumption continues to widen.
The deepening inequality between rich and poor (75% of humanity), an economic system that does not take into account environmental values and considers unlimited growth of production and consumption as progress, creates an imbalance characterized by unsustainability in economic and environmental terms.
The world social product has been increasing in recent decades by an average of 1 trillion. dollars per year. But only 15% of this increase comes from developing countries. More than 70% goes to already rich countries, i.e. every child born in a country in a developed part of the world consumes 20-30 times more of the planet’s resources than a child in a third world country.
The meeting participants approved the Declaration on Environment and Development, consisting of 27 principles that define the rights and responsibilities of countries in ensuring future development; signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change by limiting greenhouse gas emissions, and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, which provides for measures to conserve biological resources.
The adopted Agenda 21 sets out a program to make development sustainable from a social, economic and environmental perspective. “Agenda 21” contains a list of actions that should be taken in each country to ensure the transition to sustainable development. Differences in views on a number of issues divided the Conference into two camps: the United States and the rest of the world.
Particularly acute were the disagreements over the conventions “On Biological Diversity” and “On Climate Change”.
In terms of biological diversity, tropical countries stand out. It is estimated that up to 2/3 of all biological species on the planet live in tropical forests, in the coastal waters of tropical countries and in coral reef zones.
On the other hand, the development of biotechnological processes requires a very serious scientific base and is therefore carried out mainly in developed countries, whose companies and corporations derive very high profits from their use, and there are prospects for expanding the use of biotechnologies in relation to the problems of crop production, animal husbandry, medicine, and environmental protection huge. The average cost of products produced using biotechnology is estimated at tens of billions of dollars. This explains the fierce competition that has unfolded in the field of biotechnology between companies in the USA, Western Europe and Japan.
A very peculiar situation is emerging - the genetic material comes largely from developing countries, and the profits from the use of biotechnologies created on the basis of this material go only to companies in developed countries. Naturally, developing countries consider it fair to transfer part of the profits to them for carrying out the necessary measures to preserve biological diversity or transfer to them on preferential terms new technologies created on the basis of their genetic materials and capable of directly or indirectly helping to resolve environmental issues, and therefore conservation of biological diversity.
This is where a tight knot of problems arises related to satisfying the claims of developing countries: not only taxpayers of developed countries are opposed, but also the ownership of patented technologies of corporations, companies and individuals, and the head of state or government cannot ignore the right of private or corporate property. This problem is of a general nature - private property in many respects becomes a stumbling block on the path to the sustainable development of civilization. In all documents that touch on the transfer of new technologies, the United States took the toughest position, believing that such transfer should be resolved through bilateral negotiations on a commercial basis.
The text of the Convention was agreed upon with the United States at the preparatory stage. All the more unexpected was the statement by George W. Bush, made immediately before the Conference, that the United States would not sign the Convention on the Conservation of Biological Diversity. The refusal to sign the previously agreed document caused a sharply negative reaction in the world and was regarded by many as an attempt by the United States to disrupt the Conference in Rio de Janeiro.
It can be assumed that before the start of the Conference, the US President was under strong pressure from national and transnational companies and corporations working in the field of biotechnology, which he could not ignore during the election campaign.
It should also be emphasized that the United States has done everything possible to weaken the effectiveness of the Climate Change Convention and Agenda 21 on issues related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, primarily carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.
The main anthropogenic sources of increase in carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere are energy and transport running on fossil fuels. In accordance with this, the main carbon dioxide emissions come from industrialized countries: USA - 25%, Russia, CIS and Baltics - 19%, EEC - 14%, China - 10%, the rest of the world - 32% .
If we calculate emissions per capita, the ratio of figures is even more impressive and indicates that the origins of global climate change lie in the excessive consumption of resources by developed countries.
Currently, the world community is moving towards introducing a price system for all types of resources that fully takes into account the damage caused to the environment and future generations, as well as per capita emissions quotas, which, for example, has already been done in relation to emissions of chlorofluorocarbons that destroy the ozone layer. The transition to quotas means that many developed countries will have to buy quotas for emissions, in particular for carbon dioxide emissions, so even taking into account the serious energy conservation policies pursued in the last two decades by the United States and Western European countries, the United States will be at a significant disadvantage as the country that consumes the most energy resources per capita. Taking this into account, the United States is trying to push back the resolution of quota issues.
Even during the preparation of the Conference, they did everything possible to prevent the introduction of any specific records on the scale and timing of reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere into the Climate Change Convention and the chapter of Agenda 21 devoted to atmospheric problems. And it must be said that, despite the sharply negative position of developing countries, they managed to do this in a bloc with a group of Arab countries. They achieved a soft resolution to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by developed countries.
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment met in Stockholm from 5 to 16 June 1972.
In 1970, the government of England published the White Paper on environmental protection, and a little later created the Department of the Environment. On January 1, 1970, the National Environmental Policy Act was signed into law in the United States. In 1971, the Ministry of Nature Protection and Environment was created in France. In Sweden, Canada, Japan and many other countries, new environmental institutions are being opened and existing departments and ministries are being restructured.
In 1971, the UNESCO intergovernmental program “Man and the Biosphere” was created. In the spring of 1972, the Club of Rome issues its first report, “The Limits to Growth.” In the period from 1953 to 1973, more than 400 international congresses, symposiums, and conferences on environmental issues were held. Delegates from 113 countries and 40 international organizations, famous scientists and public figures took part in the Stockholm Conference.
The Stockholm Conference on Environmental Problems brought together industrialized and developing countries to determine the rights of the human race to a viable and productive environment, raised questions about regulating the use of natural resources, identifying and controlling the most important types of pollution, and international cooperation on environmental issues.
The most important outcome of the Conference was the proposal to recognize the human right to a favorable environment as a fundamental legal principle. The first principle of the Stockholm Declaration states: “Human beings have the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate living conditions in an environment of sufficient quality to enable them to live in dignity and well-being.” The Declaration further solemnly proclaimed the responsibility of governments to preserve and improve the environment for present and future generations. Since the Stockholm Conference, several states have recognized in their constitutions or laws the right to an adequate environment and the obligation of the state to preserve this environment.
The Conference adopted a 109-point action plan addressed to national governments and international organizations, and proposed the creation of a new mechanism within the UN system that would facilitate the translation of the decisions of the Conference into concrete political and scientific actions. To implement the decisions of the Conference, a new intergovernmental organization of the UN system was created in 1972 - the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), headquartered in Nairobi (Kenya). It performs coordinating and catalyzing functions in the field of environment and natural resources.
The recommendations also included suggestions for education and training programs for professional, technical and administrative personnel to enable them to use environmental concepts more effectively in their work.
The Stockholm conference gave impetus to the development of environmental studies at the national and international levels, contributed to the formation of legal norms and legislative initiatives, contributed to the search for resource-saving technologies, and accelerated the emergence of international forms of cooperation in environmental protection. The Stockholm conference served as the basis for new, broader international action on environmental protection and development. It became the forerunner of the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Conference.
1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. Positions of the participating countries in Rio 92.
In December 1989, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 44/428, calling for the organization of a special conference at the level of heads of state and government dedicated to the development of a strategy for sustainable, environmentally acceptable economic development of civilization. With this resolution the direct road to Rio began. The general management of the preparations for the conference was carried out for two and a half years by the Secretary General of the Conference on Environment and Development (CEED), Maurice Strong (Canada). An ad hoc preparatory committee was established in December 1989 and held the first session in August 1990 in Nairobi, the second and third in 1991 in Geneva, and the fourth in March 1992 in New York. Representatives from more than 170 countries took part in its work, jointly preparing three fundamental documents of the conference - the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the Statement of Principles for the Global Consensus on Forest Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development and Agenda 21. In parallel, the work of a special UN intergovernmental negotiating committee on the preparation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity was underway. In accordance with General Assembly resolution 45/211 of 21 December 1990 and its decision 46/468 of 13 April 1992, the UN Conference on Environment and Development began its work on 3 June and continued until 14 June 1992. Its participants included 177 countries, the European Economic Community (according to the list of participating countries). A problem arose with the representation of Yugoslavia in the presence of Slovenia and Croatia at the conference. The conference was also attended by representatives of UN divisions, secretariats of regional commissions, UN bodies and programs, some specialized agencies and related organizations. Delegates from the associate members of regional commissions, national liberation movements such as the African National Congress (South Africa) and the Pan-African Congress of Azania, as well as representatives of 35 intergovernmental organizations attended the conference as observers. The conference was opened by UN Secretary General Boutros Ghali.
One of the most important issues of the conference was the signing of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the issues of reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere associated with the signing of the Convention on Climate Change.
The Convention on Biological Diversity was prepared by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) with the participation of the World Resources Institute, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and other international and national organizations, agreed upon before the start of the Conference and opened for signature on the third day of its work - 5 June 1992.
The development of the Convention was an expression of the international community's concern about the significant decline in biological diversity as a result of human activities. To date, about 1.4 million biological species have been described, and in total, according to existing estimates, there are at least 5 million. Experts have calculated that now 10-15 thousand species, mainly protozoa, disappear annually. At this rate, in the next 50 years the planet will lose between a quarter and half of its biological diversity, which took hundreds of millions of years to develop.
The biosphere as an area of active life on Earth is not only an integral natural system, but also a unique bank of genetic resources. Genetic resources are the basis of breeding work to create new varieties of plants and animal breeds, for biochemical processes and biotechnologies, which provide, in particular, a significant part of the range of medicines. It is no coincidence that the creators of the Convention presented its main goal as the conservation of biodiversity at the ecosystem, species and genetic levels, the sustainable use of components of biodiversity and the receipt of benefits associated with the use of genetic resources and the exchange of relevant technologies.
Tropical countries lead in biological diversity. It is believed that up to 2/3 of all species on the planet live in their forests and coastal waters, in coral reef zones. However, they are used mainly by biotechnology companies in industrialized countries. Today, the annual cost of products produced using biotechnology is estimated at 4 billion dollars, by 2000 it will grow to 40-50 billion per year. The competition between the relevant companies in the USA, Western Europe, and Japan is unusually intense.
The Conference raised the question of whether it would be fair to transfer to developing countries either part of the profits received from the use of their genetic resources for the conservation of biodiversity, or, on preferential terms, new technologies that can help solve environmental issues. But on the way to its implementation, many problems arise related to the right of private property.
The United States acted as loyal and staunch defenders of private property at the Conference. Despite the fact that during the development period the text of the Convention on Biodiversity was agreed upon with representatives of this country, at the Conference itself, President George W. Bush acted as a strong opponent of it and refused to sign it. When, at the Rio 92 Conference, George W. Bush, defending the right to private property, refused to sign the Convention on Biodiversity, he hoped that representatives of other industrialized countries would support him. But this did not happen. The first to declare disagreement with George W. Bush's position was then Prime Minister of Canada B. Mulroney, then others supported him.
The refusal to sign the Convention by the United States caused a sharply negative reaction in the world and was even regarded by many circles as an attempt to disrupt the Conference in Rio. Other countries, including developing ones, have viewed the Convention more favorably. It was signed and came into force on December 29, 1993 after being ratified by 30 countries. As Secretary-General Maurice Strong said at the closing of the Conference: “The Convention on Biological Diversity has not been accepted by at least one of the States whose acceptance is necessary for its full and effective implementation.”
The US Democratic Party, taking into account the miscalculations of George W. Bush and the Republicans in environmental policy, offered itself to voters in a more “green” light and won. After the Uruguay Round of negotiations of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1993 fundamentally resolved issues of intellectual property protection, US President Bill Clinton signed the Convention on Biological Diversity on April 22, 1994.
Greenhouse gases are gases of both natural and anthropogenic origin that absorb infrared thermal radiation. Thus, they enhance the role of the atmosphere as a greenhouse cover in relation to the Earth's surface (the "greenhouse" or "greenhouse" effect). An increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere ultimately leads to global warming, which threatens many ecosystems that have adapted to certain climatic conditions. Greenhouse emissions include carbon dioxide; chlorofluorocarbons (freons) used in refrigeration units and aerosols; methane, ozone and nitrogen oxides. Restrictions on freon emissions have already been introduced by the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, as amended on June 29, 1990. Therefore, at the Rio 92 Conference, when developing relevant documents, the main attention was paid to carbon dioxide.
The most important anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are energy and transport powered by fossil fuels. It is no coincidence that the main emissions of carbon dioxide come from the leading industrialized countries: the USA - 25%, the former USSR - 19%, the European Union - 14%, China - 10%, the rest of the world - 32%. You can imagine what the per capita emissions figures will be. This is a vivid illustration of the many environmental problems generated by highly developed industrial countries, in particular by their excessive consumption of resources. Scientists say carbon emissions must be cut by at least 60% just to halt the global warming trend.
The Conference widely discussed the issue of introducing a price system for all types of resources, taking into account damage to the environment, as well as quotas for greenhouse gas emissions per capita. The principle of quotas means the need to buy emission quotas that exceed the established norm calculated per capita. Under the current conditions, the main buyers of quotas will, of course, be industrialized countries. The United States will be at a significant disadvantage, since it consumes the most energy resources per capita, despite large-scale energy conservation policies.
During the discussion of the framework Convention on Climate Change, US representatives did everything to exclude from the text any binding specific entries on quotas, the scale and timing of emissions reductions. In this regard, they found themselves “on the same side of the barricades” with the oil-producing Arab countries and sharply diverged from the European ones, thereby again pitting themselves against the world community. Journalists branded George W. Bush a “prisoner of the oil industry.” Green groups organized a series of protests in Rio de Janeiro against the US position, including attempts to break into the meeting room, which ended with glass breaking and the intervention of security forces.
European countries took a winning position on this issue, which was approved by many. They focused on the problem of the entity responsible for reducing emissions. According to Article 4 of the Convention, parties must take into account common and differentiated responsibilities, specific national and regional priorities. This provision makes it possible to consider not only individual states, but also regional organizations as the entity responsible for emissions, which is what the European Union decided to take advantage of. First, European countries dissociated themselves from the obstructionist position of the United States. Secondly, they proposed an interesting solution to the quota problem. Emission quotas can be calculated for the region as a whole, leaving it the right to maneuver within, or simply give regional structures the opportunity to pay for the quotas of their participants at their discretion. These proposals were fully consistent with the spirit of the EU's common environmental policy, enshrined in the 1991 Maastricht Treaty.
Speaking at the closing of the Conference, UN Secretary-General Boutros Ghali noted that “the Framework Convention on Climate Change lays the foundation for a process of cooperation aimed at keeping greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere within safe limits. The initial level of commitment is not as high as many would like. However, a low level of commitment should maximize the number of participants, which is one of the conditions for effectiveness."
Representatives of Japan tried to present their country in a humane and attractive light of the movement towards a new development model. This line was led by prominent political figures, former Japanese Prime Ministers N. Takeshita and T. Kaifu. They played a big role in preparing the Conference. At a critical moment, when differences on the financial issues of Agenda 21 became threatening and could disrupt the Conference, N. Takeshita gathered the political and financial leaders of the world in Tokyo in April 1992, and they were finally able to agree on mutually acceptable solutions.
A serious "minus" for Japan was that Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa could not attend the Conference. The text of his failed speech distributed at the Conference said: “...Japan has set a course for becoming an energy- and resource-efficient society and has dramatically improved the state of its natural environment. Today, Japan, which accounts for 14% of the global gross national product, has emissions of "Atmospheric carbon dioxide accounts for less than 5% and sulfur oxides account for only 1% of global emissions. Japan's prosperity, achieved through the use of the planet's resources, places a responsibility on Japan to play a leading role in international efforts on both environmental and development issues." Taking into account the economic, scientific and technical potential of modern environmental policy, one of the most stringent environmental legislation, Japan's claims seem quite justified.
The tricentricity seen by many researchers in the geopolitical alignment of the modern world can be clearly seen in relation to environmental problems. According to the apt assessment of the magazine "Ecologist", the meeting in Rio was a phenomenal success for the main players.
However, the traditional power and environmental triangles do not coincide. If at the 1972 Stockholm Conference on Environment and Development the United States played the role of a clear leader in the movement of humanity towards an environmentally friendly future, then at Rio 92 it did not retain this role. It was confidently taken up by European countries and Japan, which pleased the international community with a balanced, thoughtful position. The United States, according to the apt assessment of the Earth Summit Times newspaper published at the Conference, “... to the concern and even confusion of most Americans, is no longer capable of leading. Broad circles view them as a reactionary force.” This is a harsh and uncompromising assessment, especially against the background of large-scale environmental policies and many serious successes in environmental protection. The Conference participants did not deny these achievements, but they were still more interested in the mood for the future, the readiness for serious changes. The US position did not make the right impression here.
What about the pole of socialism? What did Russia and other post-Soviet and post-socialist countries look like at Rio? Unfortunately, they were not up to par. At the Conference, tirades were heard, especially from George Bush, about the exclusive guilt of totalitarianism in environmental degradation, but they did not receive approval. Moreover, references to totalitarianism did not find a response in the speeches of representatives of Russia, the CIS and Eastern European countries. The environment is ultimately beyond ideology; it requires global unity and responsibility.
At the final meeting of the Conference, Secretary General Maurice Strong said that the world must be a different place. In relation to such a different, sustainably developing, environmentally friendly world, the traditional geopolitical alignment of the world has its own characteristics.
In 1972, a meeting was held in Stockholm First World Environment Conference. Representatives of 113 states took part in it. During the conference, the concept was formulated for the first time eco-development – environmentally oriented socio-economic development, in which the growth of people's well-being is not accompanied by deterioration of the environment and degradation of natural systems. Before practical principles of eco-development were formulated, research and development were carried out in several areas:
1) Summarizing information about trends in global dynamics, drawing up development forecasts and scenarios for environmental and economic situations under various options for economic growth and economic specialization.
2) Natural scientific forecasting of the state of the biosphere, large regional natural complexes and climate changes under the influence of technogenic influences.
3) Studying the possibilities of environmental orientation and regulation of the use of natural resources and high-quality greening of production to reduce anthropogenic pressure on the environment.
4) Organization of international cooperation and coordination of efforts in the field of solving regional and national problems of environmental development and environmental management.
This required the creation of a special structure - the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The initial tasks of UNEP included developing recommendations on the most pressing problems of the upcoming environmental crisis - desertification, soil degradation, reduction of fresh water supplies, ocean pollution, deforestation, loss of valuable species of animals and plants. UNEP drew on the experience of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Program and continued to work closely with it.
In 1983, on the initiative of the UN Secretary General, the International Commission on Environment and Development(MCOSR). This organization was designed to reveal problems that unite the environmental and socio-economic concerns of people in different regions of the world, especially developing countries. In 1987, the ICOSD report entitled “Our Common Future” was published. This document clearly shows the impossibility of posing and solving major environmental problems without their connection with social, economic and political problems. The commission said the economy must meet people's needs, but its growth must be within the planet's ecological limits. There was a call for a new era of environmentally friendly economic development.
In June 1992, a UN Conference on Environment and Development(KOSR-92). It was attended by heads, members of government and experts from 179 states, as well as representatives of many non-governmental organizations, scientific and business communities.
By the time of the opening of KOSR-92, it became obvious that the increased democracy of the world, the openness of borders and the awareness of the masses are in sharp contradiction with the economic inequality of people and countries, their participation in the use of the planet's resources.
Therefore, as the central ideas, KOSR-92 postulated:
· The inevitability of compromises and sacrifices, especially on the part of developed countries, on the path to a more just world and sustainable development;
· The impossibility of developing countries moving along the path that developed countries achieved their prosperity;
· The need for the world community to transition to sustainable long-term development;
· The requirement for all layers of society in all countries to realize the absolute necessity of such a transition and to contribute to it in every possible way.
The Rio 92 Declaration calls on all states to take responsibility for all forms of activity that damage the environment in other countries, to inform other countries about potential and actual man-made and natural disasters, to increase the effectiveness of environmental legislation, and to prevent sources of environmental hazards from being transferred to the territory of other states. .
In parallel with the work of KOSR-92, a Global Forum of Representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations. It attracted about 17 thousand participants from 165 countries and 7,650 national and international organizations. At its inception, notable ideological guidelines were formulated:
· Economic development in isolation from ecology leads to the transformation of the Earth into a desert;
· Ecology without economic development perpetuates poverty and injustice;
· Equality without Economic Development means poverty for all;
· Ecology without the right to act becomes part of a system of enslavement;
· The right to act without ecology opens the way to collective self-destruction that concerns everyone equally;
The sharp categorical nature of these postulates reflected the well-known extremism of broad public circles concerned about the status quo in ecology. They became, as it were, the result of the ideological armament of numerous public environmental organizations, “green” parties in different countries of the world and international organizations such as Greenpeace, Green Cross, etc. Their programs provide not only environmental propaganda, public environmental control and exercise of the right to action, but also political pressure on governments to intensify and expand the scope of environmental activities.
In Rio de Janeiro at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, June 3-14, 1992) 114 heads of state and representatives of 1,600 non-governmental organizations attended. Undoubtedly, this was the most impressive environmental forum of the 20th century.
Opening the conference, UN Secretary-General Boutros Ghali noted: “Never before in history has so much depended for yourself, for your children, for your grandchildren, for life in all its diversity of forms, on what you do or do not do.”
Five main documents were approved at the conference: the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development; Agenda - XXI century; Statement of Principles for the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests; Framework Convention on Climate Change; Convention on Biological Diversity.
Let us briefly list the essence of the most important decisions taken at this conference:
1. Caring for people must be central to efforts to achieve sustainable development. People have the right to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
2. All nations of the world have the sovereign right to develop their own resources in accordance with their environmental and development policies and bear full responsibility for environmental damage.
3. The right to development must be realized to ensure that the development and environmental needs of present and future generations are equitably met.
4. Environmental protection should be an integral part of the development of human society.
5. All states and all peoples must cooperate in solving the critical task of eradicating poverty.
6. It is necessary to promote the development of developing countries.
8. Unsustainable patterns of production and consumption should be limited and eliminated and appropriate population policies should be encouraged.
9. Environmental issues must be addressed in the most effective manner. At the same time, every person should have adequate access to information related to the environment.
11. States must adopt effective environmental legislation.
12. To more effectively address environmental degradation, States must cooperate to create an enabling and open international economic system that would lead to economic growth and sustainable development in all countries.
13. All states should develop national laws regarding liability and compensation for victims of pollution and other environmental damage.
14. States must cooperate effectively to curb or prevent the transfer and transfer to other States of any activities and substances that cause serious environmental damage or are considered harmful to human health.
15. In order to protect the environment, states widely apply the precautionary principle, according to their capabilities.
15. The environment and natural resources of peoples living under conditions of oppression, domination and occupation must be protected. War inevitably has a destructive impact on the process of sustainable development. That is why states must respect international law that protects the environment during armed conflicts and must cooperate, where necessary, in its further development.
16. Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and inseparable.
17. States must resolve all their environmental disputes peacefully and by appropriate means in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
18. States and peoples need to cooperate in a spirit of goodwill and partnership in implementing accepted principles and in further developing international law in the field of sustainable development.
Thus, the most important achievements of the UN Conference were the recognition of the following facts: “the problem of the environment and economic development cannot be considered separately” (principle 4), “states must cooperate in the spirit of full partnership in order to preserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem” (principle 7), “peace, development and environmental protection are interconnected and inseparable” (principle 25). It was recommended to base the development of an environmental strategy by the state of the international community on the concept of sustainable development.
At the Conference it was emphasized that there is no reasonable alternative to sustainable development, which means the simultaneous solution of problems of economic development and ecology.
Summing up the results of the conference, the Secretary General of the organizing committee M. Strong (Canada) emphasized the unprecedented scale and significance of this event. “The world after the conference should be different,” he said. “The others must be diplomacy and the UN system of international relations, as well as governments that have committed themselves to moving towards sustainable development.” For the human population, the habitat is the entire biosphere, which represents a single and integral system, therefore successful
REFERENCES
Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 5-16 June 1972 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.73.II.A.14), chapter 1.
Korobkin V.I., Peredelsky L.V. Ecology. –Rostov-on-Don, 2001.
LIST THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION STRUCTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW. GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE LAW BENZOPERENE. REASONS FOR APPEARANCE IN THE ENVIRONMENT CONCEPT OF CARCINOGENIC SUBSTANCES. CARCINOGENES IN THE ENVIRONMENT
