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Task Force for WSSD Preparation

INFORSE is forming a Task Force for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, September 2002.

The Task Force will discuss and prepare activities to influence the preparatory process through national governments and on the international level towards the WSSD meeting.

Interested INFORSE members can contact the INFORSE secretariat, att. Michael Kvetny e-mail [email protected].

Vision 2050 at Rio02 in January

The INFORSE vision with phase-out of fossil fuels and nuclear power, Vision2050, will be presented at the major sustainable-energy event Rio02 in Rio de Janeiro, January 6-11, 2002. Rio02 is one of the few officially recognized preparatory events for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Rio+10) with sustainable energy as the main topic. The vision will be presented by the INFORSE Latin America coordinator Emilio la Rovere.

Information about Rio02: www.rio02.org.

VODO Conference in November 2001

Also Raymond Myles, INFORSE Coordinator for the South Asian Region will participate in Rio+10 preparations, presenting a paper, under the sub-theme "North-South climate policy: more than technology transfer" at the VODO Conference on Globalisation and Sustainable Development, to be held November 19-21, 2001 in Belgium. VODO is a network of 23 NGOs and federations working on sustainable development in Flanders, Belgium. This conference of VODO is also part of the preparations towards Rio+10.

Side Event at Rio+10 in September 2002

For Rio+10 itself, to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in September 2002, INFORSE is considering coordinating a side-event on NGOs’ sustainable energy strategies in co-operation with other interested networks and NGOs. The main themes of the official Rio+10 are not decided yet, and thus it is not known how high sustainable-energy issues will be on the official agenda.

Presentations and other preparatory materials from INFORSE for Rio+10 will be available at the INFORSE website (www.inforse.org) as soon as they are finalised.

INFORSE - Meeting South Asia

The South Asian Regional INFORSE Meeting in Nepal got postponed until February, 2002 due to the current disturbances in the region.

More information: Raymond Myles, South Asian INFORSE Coordinator, INSEDA, India. E-mail: [email protected].

NGOs’ Letter

Demanding Phase Out of Fossil Fuel Funding

On October 23, 2001, just before the Climate Convention Conference COP7 in Morocco, 70 NGOs and networks including INFORSE-Europe sent a letter to presidents of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and Export Credit Agencies (ECA).

In the letter, it is proposed to introduce criteria for MDB and ECA projects to bring them in line with the recent resolutions of the Kyoto Protocol. This includes phasing out fossil-fuel investment of public funds, which is in direct conflict with fighting human-induced global climate change.

The letter also cites the need for "no-go zones" for mining and drilling projects, including areas of high conservation value and areas where such projects could escalate violence and civil unrest. Another concern of the letter is stopping MDB and ECA investments in nuclear power.

Finally, the letter reiterates the recommendations of the G8 Renewable Energy Task Force, which called for investments that truly alleviate poverty and promote sustainable economic development.

Information: www.bankwatch.org.