CA's proposals for the UN Summit.

Consumer Alert, accredited as a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, had ten NGO representatives attending many of the meetings that took place August 24-September 4, 2002, in Johannesburg, South Africa. About 60,000 delegates from around the world were expected to attend the Summit.

Frances B. Smith, executive director of Consumer Alert, noted that the group's attendees "did not increase CO2 emissions from their plane travel to South Africa." She said, "Unless our delegates jog or engage in heavy breathing, they will not be responsible for additional CO2 emissions, as will the thousands of environmental group representatives participating from around the world. Nine Consumer Alert delegates are from a sister organization in South Africa, or were in Johannesburg already for other business."

In papers and at the meeting, Consumer Alert focused on critical issues relating to sustainability and sustainable development and offered the following among its proposals for the Summit:

--Ensuring that the concept of sustainability emphasizes "meeting the needs" of people today, especially the impoverished of the world, which is often overlooked in addressing possible future needs.

--Emphasizing the benefits of open trade for people in both developed and developing countries, as trade allows for more efficient use of resources and economic opportunities, which can play a critical role in economic growth to help the disadvantaged and sustainable development.

--Recognizing that the concept of sustainability combined with the Precautionary Principle could have disastrous consequences if innovation and technologies are stifled in favor of the status quo. A biased view of only one side of the risk equation--the risk of innovation--instead of balancing that against the risk of stagnation, could restrict urgently needed developments.

--Exploring alternatives to viewing humankind as the environmental problem that requires rationing of resources, restrictions, taxes and other coercive means--alternatives that would provide positive incentives to unleash human creativity to solve problems through voluntary and private ownership arrangements, as well as developing the institutions to protect individual rights and property.

--Recognizing that technology, such as agricultural biotechnology, can be a critical tool in helping to feed the starving of the world, and in advancing sustainability through improving crop yields, reducing pesticide use, and growing crops in inhospitable soils.