A firm sense of duty

With the World Summit on Sustainable Development inching towards watered-down compromises, it is refreshing to see that China is committed to making the world a better place. While nations like the United States and Australia try to jeopardise and lessen the impact of agreements, the world's most populous country is taking concrete steps and attempting to move important global issues forward.

Premier Zhu Rongji's speech to world leaders in Johannesburg yesterday highlighted the lack of effort being made by some industrialised nations. His message was that although China is the world's biggest developing country, it is willing to be a global partner and tackle issues which affect people other than its own.

Mr Zhu's announcement that China had ratified the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions was welcome news for delegates. Shortly after, his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Kasyanov, announced that his country also intended to ratify the accord.

These will be among the most positive developments to come from the summit, which ends today. A deal on slashing poverty and other issues separating the developing and developed world is likely to be diluted after months of wrangling. Targets will be set, but there is unlikely to be any onus on nations to meet such goals.

The efforts of the US and nations that have opted to shadow its selfish policies serve only to protect and further enrich people who are already wealthy and wasteful. The lobbying by multi-national corporations to ensure their continued growth seems to have paid off.

Any agreements adopted at the summit to improve the well-being and wealth of the world's poor and to protect the environment are likely to be made voluntary and non-binding.