I'm writing this from Johannesburg, South Africa, where one man is missing: George W. Bush. For this week, Johannesburg is the center of the world. Almost two hundred nations have sent delegates here for the third worldwide summit on the environment, held during the end of August and start of September. More than a hundred heads of state are here. Tens of thousands -- maybe 65,000 -- journalists, private citizens, scientists, and government officials are here. Up to 40,000 of these are activists, from citizens' groups all over the globe. When you walk into the activists' forum, the incredible diversity, abilities, and power of the international environmental movement are breathtaking.

That power has led the United Nations to change the way it does business. Ten years ago, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, NRDC was part of a huge groundswell of activism that pushed governments to call for immediate protection of biodiversity, forests, water, and the atmosphere. But the governments failed to live up to their promises. Instead of moving forward, for the most part the world has moved backward -- losing forests, losing clean drinking water, heating up the climate, and losing time.

Today, the governments are here to commit real money. The UN is asking the nations not only to honor their word in the international agreements, but also to announce concrete environmental projects. Indonesia's department of transportation has promised to reduce marine pollution. The European Commission plans to fund efforts in Africa and Central Asia to help protect freshwater and make sure that people have clean water to drink. Italy is working with Boliva, Brazil, and Peru on setting up a regional strategy for conserving rainforests. NRDC itself has started a "clean fuels" partnership with Australia, the Netherlands, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the oil industry, and many other parties to help poor countries phase out leaded gasoline and also start phasing in low-polluting, low-sulfur diesel fuel. There are hundreds of other projects that will bring real, tangible environmental protection and progress. And moreover, China and Russia, among others, have announced their plans to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on curbing global warming.

All of this makes it even clearer just how far George W. Bush is abdicating his environmental responsibilities. Ten years ago at the Rio Earth Summit, the former President Bush declared his "continuing commitment to leadership and to international cooperation on the environment." His son -- who should be stepping forward to help lead the world toward environmental protection -- hasn't even seen fit to show up.

John H. Adams
President