UNEP Regional Director Ricardo Sánchez Sosa
"The United States Is Not the World"

By María Laura Mazza

Brazil, speaking for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, has been leading the debate on clean energy at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). Its proposal that that ten percent of the energy used in the world should come from renewable sources by 2010 is applauded by environmental groups, Latin American countries and a few European nations, but firmly opposed by the United States and the bloc of oil-producing countries.

"We, the developing nations will be the ones paying the most for climate change, and that's why we believe that the process of stabilising the greenhouse effect must be accelerated," said Mexican-born Ricardo Sánchez Sosa, regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Tierramérica spoke with Sánchez in an exclusive interview.

TIERRAMERICA: The expectations that this Summit will produce positive results seem to be waning. What do you think will come out of the WSSD?

SANCHEZ: I have never been one of the pessimists. I think that some successes have already been achieved here at the conference, like the replenishing of funds for the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which exceeded all expectations. It increased from 2.7 billion dollars to over 2.9 billion, and it was considered a major challenge before the Summit even began. As for the paragraphs related to the means of implementation, negotiations have moved forward, but there are still important issues that need to be clarified. I think that during the discussions (on this issue) in the coming days, the ministers will be able to reach an agreement.

The United States is not only absent from this Summit, but from the Kyoto Protocol and the Convention on Biodiversity as well. As such, is it realistic to expect any concrete progress here?

I do think it is realistic. The United States may be the biggest economy on this planet, but it is not the world. Even if the United States did not participate in any agreement, the resolutions taken will influence that country and the development of the use of renewable sources of energy.

Do you believe it is feasible for the Brazil-led Latin American initiative -- calling for 10 percent of energy used to be from renewable sources by 2010 -- to be approved at this Summit?

It is technologically and materially possible, but everything depends on the efforts each country is willing to make. A lot of financial factors have to be taken into consideration: the world is not in good economic shape at the moment and that allows for many conservative attitudes to hold significant influence.

Are multinational oil companies trying to frustrate this initiative through the powerful nations?

I would not be completely sure about that. I think there is a clear appreciation of what needs to be done. Many of us believe that it is important to speed up this process (towards using renewable energy), since the planet needs the greenhouse effect to be stabilised as quickly as possible. We, the developing nations, will be the ones to pay the most for the climate change. There are others, influenced by factors more closely related to their interests, with different views as to the rate at which these problems should be solved.

If, by the end of this Summit, everything continues as it is now, how would the United Nations explain this shortcoming to the world?

The explanation will not only have to be given by the UN, but also by its members.

But the UN has been widely criticised for organising this sort of mega-conference, which is very costly, and, say critics, does not produce any concrete results.

I believe that this was a necessary conference, and the General Assembly itself by a majority decided that it was necessary to evaluate the Rio de Janeiro (Earth Summit) 10 years later. It is urgent to move forward on the path towards sustainability. I don't think that this conference will be a failure.