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Next week BBC World's HARDtalk will focus on the
World Summit on Sustainable Development currently on in
Johannesburg, South Africa.
All
through next week, from Monday to Friday, HARDtalk will
feature guests from across the world who will be grilled
on issues relevant to the summit. The summit in Johannesburg
is being described as the most important environmental negotiation
since Rio (Brazil) in 1992.
On
Monday 26 August, British Environment Secretary Margaret
Becke - with Allan Little:
How
serious are the world's politicians about reaching agreement
on sustainable development and the environment? The summit
comes at a time when the United States has reneged on the
Kyoto Treaty to cut greenhouse gases and the richest countries
continue to provide billions of dollars in subsidies to
their own agricultural and industrial sectors. Allan Little
talks to Britain's environment secretary Margaret Beckett
who'll be attending - the summit, and asks whether politicians
can do anything - To close the gap between the developing
and developed world.
Tuesday
27 August, Sir Robert Wilson, executive chairman, Rio Tinto
- with Tim Sebastian:
The
environmental lobby and many developing nations have hit
out at multinationals saying they extract huge amounts of
natural resources with scant regard for the environment
and the plight of the poor. Rio Tinto is one of the world's
largest mining companies with 61 operations across 20 countries.
Tim Sebastian asks Wilson, who will be at the summit, whether
big businesses should be doing more in spreading their wealth
and helping the environment.
Wednesday
28 August, Lucky Mazibuko, South African National AIDS Council
with Tim Sebastian:
The
host country of the summit is in the grip of an AIDS epidemic,
which is also ravaging sub Saharan Africa. More than one
in ten adults in the region are infected with the HIV virus.
One of them is South African Lucky Mazibuko. He has been
appointed to the South African National AIDS Council and
is a Director of HIV/AIDS at the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Tim Sebastian met him in Soweto and asked him about his
battle to promote understanding.
Thursday
29 August, Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico City environment minister
with Tim Sebastian:
One
city that can attest to the difficulties of handling economic
development while keeping an eye on the environment is Mexico
City. With more than 20 million people and in excess of
3 million private cars, the air pollution is so bad that
government figures suggest tens of thousands may be dying
prematurely because of smog-related health problems. Tim
Sebastian travelled to Mexico City and met environment minister
Claudia Sheinbaum.
Friday
30 August, Gerard Mestrallet, chief executive of Suez, world's
second largest water company - with Tim Sebastian:
Water
is one of the five major topics up for discussion at the
Summit. According to the World Bank more than 1 billion
people lack access to safe water and more than 3 million
still die each year from avoidable water-related diseases.
So with privatisation of services like water gaining ground
around the world, what roles do multinationals play in trying
to solve these problems? How do they balance their goal
of making money with bringing services to the poor? Sebastian
travels to Paris to talk to the chief executive
of Suez, Gerard Mestrallet, whose company is the second
biggest water group in the world.
HARDtalk
can be seen on BBC World on Mondays at 2 pm, 5 pm and 9
pm, Tuesdays to Fridays at midnight, 2 pm, 5 pm and 9 pm
and Saturdays at midnight and 5 am - all timings IST.
Click for more Tube Talk
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