Tuesday, September 14, 2004
By Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — A meeting this week sponsored by
major energy companies will propose creating an international
court to assess and punish environmental crimes, organizers
said.
The Fourth Green Meeting of the Americas will seek proposals
to promote development while protecting the environment, said
Paulo Cesar Fernandes, one of the conference organizers.
The three-day meeting, which begins Tuesday, is sponsored
by Brazilian oil giant Petrobras and other Brazilian energy
companies. Some 3,000 people from more than a dozen countries
are expected to attend, including politicians, business leaders,
and environmentalists.
The main proposal will be the creation of an International
Environmental Court, modeled after the World Court in the
Hague, Netherlands.
The court will seek to balance economic development with
protecting the environment, punishing environmental crimes
on a global level, Fernandes said.
"The proposal for the court should come out in a 'Green
Letter' that will be drafted by the end of the conference,"
he said.
Other topics will include climate change, water resources,
biotechnology, forests, and energy.
Musa Amer Salim Odeh, the chief of the Palestinian Special
Delegation to Brazil, will offer a presentation on the environmental
consequences of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
New Zealand's ambassador to Brazil, Denise Almoa, will discuss
her country's successes in the area of sustainable development.
Brazil has long been an important country for environmentalists
because it is home to the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest
remaining tropical wilderness. Efforts to balance development
with environmental protections are especially urgent in Brazil,
where logging, ranching, and grain farming claim nearly 25,000
square kilometers (10,000 square miles) of forest ever year.
Source: Associated Press
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