Agenda '02.

Today's world situation is markedly different in many ways from that of the 1992 Earth Summit. Globalization--fuelled by government decisions to liberalize trade and capital markets, and accompanied by privatization and deregulation of economic activities and rapid development of information and communication. Technologies--has dramatically changed the global economic landscape. The annual output of the world economy grew from $31 trillion in 1990 to $42 trillion in 2000, compared to just $6.2 trillion in 1950, creating millions of new jobs and allowing people to consume more. For example, telephone connections g mew from 520 million in 1990 to 844 million in 1998, an increase of 62 percent.

Governments have used economic as well as regulatory inducements to improve the sustainability of consumption and production, such as: environmental taxes; pollution charges; tradable permits for pollution emissions and water use deposit-refund schemes for waste management; non-compliance fees and performance bonds; and voluntary codes of conduct.

Businesses have introduced cleaner and more eco-efficient production processes and have reduced pollution and other environmental impacts with eco-friendly design, packaging and labelling.

The public has become more aware of consumer responsibilities and options. In addition to a more widespread practice of the three "Rs"--reduce, reuse and recycle-there is a willingness to pay more for organic and environment-friendly products.

Some proposals and recommendations from the UN Secretary General's Agenda 2l Implementation Report are:

* Removing trade-distorting subsidies and improving market access of products and services of developing countries to developed countries, especially products for which developing countries have a competitive advantage, such as agriculture and textiles.

* Unrestricted duty-free and quota-free treatment for exports from the least developed countries.

* Strengthening the World Trade Organization as framework for an unbiased, rule-based and nondiscriminatory international trading system.

* Helping developing countries narrow the digital divide.

* A fourfold increase in energy and resource efficiency in developed countries in the next two or three decades, and a possible tenfold increase in resource efficiency in developed countries in the long term.

* Enhancing corporate responsibility and accountability through such initiatives as the Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative, and. such tools as environmental management accounting and environmental reporting, with incentives to industry and public institutions to step up research and development into cleaner production technologies:

* Promoting sustainable consumption through government action, including "green" national accounts and procurement measures, arid tax reform favouring resource conservation.