PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRIME MINISTER OF NETHERLANDS

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRIME MINISTER OF NETHERLANDS

The General Assembly's special session to review the implementation of Agenda 21 should not only assess what had been done to protect the environment, but should also set out policy lines for sustainable development for the future, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Willem Kok, told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference yesterday afternoon, 23 June.

The Minister for Development Cooperation, Johannes Peiter Pronk, and his counterpart in charge of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, Margaretha de Boer, also spoke at the conference launched by the Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information, Samir Sanbar.

The Prime Minister said the Summit should help promote world-wide sustainable development with a balance between environmental protection and economic growth. The search for sustainable development must put people at the centre of the process since development could be sustained only if the world eradicated poverty, promoted employment, fostered social integration, promoted gender equality and respected human rights.

During his speech to the special session, he said, he had listed some of the initiatives proposed by the European Union on the protection of forests, the provision of clean water and the sustainable use of alternative forms of energy.

Continuing, he said that Europeans felt that since climate change was a global problem, the industrialized world should lead in reducing the emission of greenhouse gases and conclude a legally-binding treaty at the third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Kyoto in December. The European Union had accepted a phased reduction of the emission of those gases by 15 per cent below the 1990 level by the year 2010. Due to differences of opinion about the targets at the just-concluded Denver Summit of the Eight, the European Union had invited other participants to join the pursuit of that goal.

Regarding water, he said it was important to highlight the impending water crisis and to promote a more integrated approach that would have water and land management examined together. The Union also invited others to join it in providing financial support for the sustainable management of forests and the implementation of Agenda 21.

In a subsequent question-and-answer session, Prime Minister Kok was asked for his views on the critique of the environment-related outcome of the Denver Summit made by the Assembly President Ismail Razali (Malaysia) and for

comments on how the European Union would resuscitate the Middle East peace process. Responding to the second question first, Mr. Kok said the Union would support new ideas that would end the current deadlock in the process. Furthermore, the Union was providing financial support to countries in the region, partly as result of which it had acquired some political role in the peace process even though the key role would continue to be played by the United States.

"There are no reasons to be optimistic", he continued. "Rather, there are reasons to be worried about developments in the region." That was why the Union would maintain contact with such Middle Eastern leaders as President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and their efforts to rescue the peace process.

Turning to the environment-related language of the Denver Summit communique, Mr. Kok said that, despite differences over the timing of commitments to targets, he had been encouraged by the speeches made to the Assembly this morning by United States Vice-President Albert Gore and by Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, both calling for quick action on the environment. He expressed hope that, with five to six months before the Kyoto meeting, the Europeans could persuade others to accept common commitments on how to tackle global environmental problems. In order to maintain their credibility in the eyes of the developing countries, the industrialized world should negotiate and lead the fight to sustain the globe's environment.

Asked whether the European Union would pressurize the United States into accepting the 15 per cent target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Prime Minister said it was encouraging that the Denver Summit was the first meeting of the major industrialized States which had given so much prominence to the environment. While a consensus had been lacking on the European proposal on the 15 per cent emission reductions, it was too early to talk about applying pressure on the United States.

In response to a question as to whether the European Union had any plans to ensure that the 0.7 per cent target of gross national product (GNP) for official development assistance (ODA) was met, he said the Union was ready to accept that target in relation to, for example, forest and water management. Similarly, each member of the Union had its own position on the 0.7 per cent target, with some of them, including the Netherlands, exceeding it.

Adding to that response, the Minister for Development Cooperation, Mr. Pronk, said that, apart from the Netherlands, France and the Scandinavian countries were providing assistance that exceeded the 0.7 per cent rate. Also, many European countries that once opposed that target had reversed their positions; a positive development in itself.

Netherlands Briefing - 3 - 24 June 1997

The Prime Minister was asked for his views on the comprehensive strategy for preventing global warming, or green initiative -- consisting of green technology and green aid -- proposed by Mr. Hashimoto, who had stated that it would promote energy conservation, solar power generation, and afforestation. Replying, Mr. Kok said green aid and technology should be used to promote economic growth that did not threaten the environment.

Stating her views on the special session's possible outcome, the Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, Ms. de Boer, expressed hope for the acceptance of the draft texts before the session. Agreements should be reached on plans to cut fossil fuel use and replace it with alternatives. Similarly, she expressed hope that the meetings would produce agreements on forest management and commitment to protect the world's water resources. "The statements I have heard from the Summit have made me more optimistic than I was a few days ago", she said.

Asked what would happen to countries that failed to meet the targets for reducing greenhouse gases, Ms. de Boer said that global instruments such as those that could be established at Kyoto would help reduce greenhouse gases. One way of doing so would be to make the use of fossil fuel more expensive and alternative energy sources cheaper. The European Union was working within a European framework to meet those gas reduction targets. "The 15 per cent reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases is not a luxury but a necessity", she added.

In response to a question on proposals to create a world environment organization within the United Nations system, she said the European Union was generally cautious about the creation of new United Nations entities. Since the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) could be strengthened to carry out the functions of the envisaged world environment organization, she expressed reluctance about the creation of the new body.

Asked to explain what could be holding the United States Government from embracing the emission and energy targets and how those stumbling blocks could be overcome, Prime Minister Kok said he had been told that those problems were related to the country's internal politics. The best others could do to overcome them was to engage in sound arguments supporting the targets and to give the White House more time to reach a domestic agreement on the matter.

* *** *