| June 4, 2004—World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn wrote an editorial about the importance of the environment that appeared in South China Morning Post and Liberation (France). Here are a few excerpts from it: When the world's leaders met at the Millennium Summit four years ago, they agreed on a set of goals aimed at cutting global poverty in half by 2015. They also set targets for the environment, because they understood its centrality to long-term economic growth, human development, and the stability of the planet. The problem is that today, ten years shy of when the 2015 goals are to be met, progress on the environment is alarmingly slow. So much more is possible. | Of the world's species, 12% of birds, 24% of mammals, and 30% of fish are either vulnerable or in immediate danger of extinction. |
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The Scale of the Challenge
Another two billion people will be added to global population over the next 25 years - the vast majority in poorer nations - with huge demands for energy and economic growth. If that growth is not achieved in an environmentally sustainable way, its effects on poverty and human well-being will be disastrous. It will be too late 25 years from now to make the right choices.
The environmental challenge is even more stark in developing countries, where five billion of the earth's six billion people live. In these nations, the environment is linked directly to human development - and to poverty. More than a billion people in developing countries lack access to clean water; more than two billion have no access to basic sanitation. Five to six million people, mostly children, die every year due to waterborne diseases, such as diarrhea, and air pollution. What Needs to Be Done?
As a starting point, we must recognize the fundamental imbalance in the global environmental equation. Richer countries account for only 15% of the world's population, but they cause 50% of global carbon dioxide emissions. But the poorer countries pay much of the "costs" - losing up to 8% of their GDP per year due to environmental degradation, as well as suffering devastating effects on health and human welfare. Rich countries' larger contribution to environmental damage means that they must shoulder greater responsibility for fixing the problem. That means changing the way they produce and consume energy - reducing subsidies, ensuring appropriate pricing, and adequately taxing environmentally damaging products. It also means providing more resources to developing countries for environmental conservation. Aid for the environment averaged about $2 billion per year - far short of what the international community said was needed. In terms of global priorities, this figure compares with the $900 billion that the world currently commits to military expenditures each year. If the war on environmental degradation is to be won, we need a major turnaround. Three areas can help speed progress: - Developed countries must set the example by moving toward environmentally friendly production and consumption patterns,
- Developing countries must improve their policies governing the critical sectors of water, energy, transport and trade, including pricing policies.
- The international community must make a much more serious commitment to renewable energy, efficiency, and other environmentally friendly energy sources.
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