Weak U.S. Role on Pollution

The summit that opened in Johannesburg on Monday is supposed to deal with a staggering list of problems, from poverty to overfishing, from unclean drinking water to climate change. Some of the 100 presidents and prime ministers due to attend the gathering in South Africa have made matters worse, siphoning off money that could have lessened poverty and drilled wells for fresh water. Some will demand yet more aid from richer nations, primarily the United States. It’s easy to be cynical about so large a meeting confronting so vast a panoply of problems, but refocusing world attention on the environment can be a start toward improving the quality of the air, water and land.

It will be difficult to overcome divisions among the countries at what is officially known as the World Summit on Sustainable Development. European countries say the main focus of the 10-day gathering, organized by the United Nations, should be water and renewable energy. But poorer countries want to concentrate on getting more aid from wealthier nations. The United States, which is not sending its leader, wants to emphasize the need for developing nations to reduce corruption and account for the aid they now receive.

An encouraging aspect of the summit is the presence of businesses and organizations specializing in helping villages drill wells, build health clinics and educate children. The need for partnership is clear. Governments can provide expertise and money to help organizations do the work on the ground. Businesses can provide technology to make well-drilling easier and schools more energy-efficient.

Up to 40,000 people are expected at the summit. President Bush’s refusal to attend sends a signal that the world’s most powerful country, also the biggest economic force and biggest polluter, is not as concerned as it should be with the environment. Bush’s absence also fits the administration’s pattern of rejecting global accords--such as the Kyoto Protocol, which grew out of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro--and preferring to go it alone. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell will attend the conference in its final days.

The Bush administration did join European nations at a summit in Monterrey, Mexico, this year in promising to increase foreign aid by $12 billion a year. That is an important step, since the poverty of developing nations contributes greatly to pollution. Coal and wood fires emit smoke that hangs over cities like New Delhi and Jakarta, where many residents are too poor to afford electricity. A pre-summit U.N. report said 3 million people died each year because of air pollution.

The absence of U.S. leadership may make it more difficult to solve environmental problems, but it need not be impossible. When Powell arrives at the summit, he should assure world leaders that the United States’ recent financial pledge in Monterrey is demonstration that this nation understands its large role in addressing world pollution.