Greenpeace protests Earth Summit atop Rio's Christ
Date: 09-Sep-02
Country: BRAZIL
"Rio+10 = a second chance?" read the bright yellow letters displayed on one of Brazil's most photographed attractions by activists dangling from ropes, one day after the international environment and development conference ended in Johannesburg.
Green campaigners decried the outcome of the marathon Earth Summit, known as Rio+10 since it came a decade after the Brazilian city hosted a similar event. They called it a major let-down for the poor and the planet.
"What most outraged us was that 10 years ago here in Rio a seed of hope was planted for a change in attitude toward the environment and development," Frank Guggenheim, Greenpeace's chief executive in Brazil, said last week.
"The Johannesburg summit ended and a second chance to do something was lost, like to establish targets, implementation times or energy resources to be used in the future," he said.
Brazil had proposed to the Earth Summit that countries commit to generate 10 percent of the world's energy with renewable sources by 2010 but the proposal was rejected.
Police arrested the five Greenpeace members when they climbed back down the world-famous Christ that watches over the beaches, bays and slums of the city.
"The Christ is a Catholic symbol and the activists did not ask for permission to protest," said Jose Benedito Reis, a priest from the archdiocese of Rio.
Other Greenpeace members protested at the 17th World Petroleum Congress in Rio, where they performed a symbolic burial of the Earth Summit by U.S. President George W. Bush.
Campaigners blame Bush, the United States and international oil companies for blocking efforts to halt environmental destruction.
