LONDON -- The G7's July 17 setting of a deadline on the GATT trade negotiations proved that politicians can act on an issue if they are serious about it, Greenpeace said on the same day.
Spokesperson Yasuko Matsumoto commented that the G7 “say that no issue has more far-reaching implications for the world economy than the Uruguay Round. But the implications of global warming will affect economies, trade and the future of this planet. In a greenhouse world, GATT will be irrelevant.
“We are horrified at the weak environmental section of the communiqué. The words on global warming bear the smell of United States intransigence. An earlier draft of the communiqué specifically referred to the urgent need to cut carbon dioxide emissions, and to ensure no `double counting' of gases covered by the Montreal Protocol. Both those references have now been deleted.
“We agree wholeheartedly with the G7 when they talk of the need for energy prices to reflect the full costs, including environmental costs.
“But we are stunned at their inconsistency in the very next paragraph, where they promote nuclear power. The economic and environmental costs of the nuclear energy industry would price it right off the market.
“It is ironic that the communiqué states that industrial countries should set an example on the environment. The only example set today by the G7 on the environment is one of procrastination”, said Matsumoto. -- Greenpeace/Pegasus
