EARTH SUMMIT : World’s Leaders Speak Out

Comments made by some world leaders who addressed summit: U.S.: President Bush

“America’s record on environmental protection is second to none. So, I did not come here to apologize. . . . We believe the road to Rio must point to both environmental protection and economic growth. By now it is clear to sustain development we must protect the environment, and to protect the environment we must sustain development.”

BRITAIN: John Major

“We have awoken to a new threat . . . that by our actions we could insidiously, but just as certainly, achieve the same result: the destruction of the globe. We are alive to the danger. We know the remedy. . . . The world is our garden. Together, we must cultivate it.”

GERMANY: Helmut Kohl

“We are ready to assume our share and hope other industrial countries will do the same. . . . We are determined to live up to our responsibilities to developing countries. . . . A peaceful future can only be assured if we make our peace with nature.”

INDIA: P.V. Narasimha Rao

“We inhabit a single planet, but one of many worlds. Such a fragmented planet cannot survive in harmony with itself. . . . We must assure that the affluence of some is not derived from the poverty of many.”

CHINA: Li Peng

“Developed countries have a greater obligation to find solutions and to transfer technology. . . . Protection of the environment must respect the sovereignty and independence of each country. . . . The Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 are an excellent base for international cooperation.”

CUBA: Fidel Castro

“The ecological debt should be paid, not the foreign debt. Hunger must disappear, not man. . . . When there are no more pretexts for arms races, military expansion and cold wars, what prevents the developed countries from offering funds for environmental protection?”

BRAZIL: Fernando Collor de Mello

“This is a unique, and perhaps the last, opportunity to build a new world. . . . Our people expect a lot from us.”

CANADA: Brian Mulroney

After endorsing the global warming and biodiversity treaties, he said: “We undertake to ratify both agreements this calendar year.”

MALDIVES: Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

“A 1-meter (3.3-foot) rise in the level of the ocean threatens our survival as a nation. . . . We are a small nation and maybe our voice does not have weight. . . . But do not let our voice go unheard, for if you do, it might be forever.”