Date published: 2005/03/21
The BBC says:
Environment and development ministers from the G8 group of leading countries have committed themselves to tackling the problem of illegal logging.
They have also agreed that action is needed to protect Africa from the consequences of climate change.
Their statement of intent came at the end of a meeting in Derby, UK, and will be considered at the G8 summit in July.
...
The Commission for Africa report, released during the week preceding the conference, formed the basis for many of the discussions.It labelled subsidies as "environmentally destructive" and "ethically indefensible", and said that trade tariffs should be dismantled within five years.
But the G8 ministers' statement steers clear of such issues; it acknowledges that Africa is especially vulnerable to climate change, that it represents a threat to development, that measures to reduce vulnerability are needed and that African nations need assistance in understanding climate risks.
On forestry, the statement commits G8 nations to "encourage, adopt or extend public timber procurement policies that favour legal timber", and to assist producer countries to tackle illegal logging through combating corruption and strengthening law enforcement.
Mostly hot air, mostly because of US obstructionism and unilateralism.
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