World Watch

SOUTH AFRICA
Baby Steps Toward Tomorrow
The earth summit in Johannesburg ended on an unexpected upbeat note for the Green lobby. Russia and Canada announced they will seek to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. Their decision means the treaty, including its system of trading rights to emit carbon, should now be able to take effect. Other achievements of the summit included an agreement on water and sanitation. Governments pledged to halve the number of people (about 1.1 billion) lacking clean water and basic sanitation by 2015. Delegates also agreed that international trade deals will no longer...

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