French President Mr Jacques Chirac today called on all countries to implement the Kyoto pact, a day after US President Mr George Bush said he would no longer back the international treaty on global warming.
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Mr Jacques Chirac
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"At a time of global warming and of a disturbing and unacceptable challenge to the Kyoto Protocol ... of spreading deserts and an impending freshwater crisis of major proportions, how can we affirm the right to a protected and preserved environment, the right of future generations?" Mr Chirac asked in an address to the UN Commission on Human Rights.
"It is in this spirit that I call urgently on all states, and first of all the industrialized countries, to fully implement the Kyoto Protocol on climate change without delay," he told the 53-member state forum, which is holding its annual six-week session in Geneva.
Mr Chirac also said the UN Commission on Human Rights could contribute to the upcoming 10th anniversary of the Rio Summit, which proclaimed the principles of sustainable development, by helping develop a defined right to environment.