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CNN Live At Daybreak

Bush Not Present at Sustainable Development Summit

Aired August 26, 2002 - 06:21   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: South Africa is playing host to the U.N. Earth Summit On Sustainable Development. Thousands of delegates and world leaders are now in Johannesburg. But President Bush is a notable exception.
Joining us live from the summit is Johannesburg bureau chief Charlayne Hunter-Gault -- good morning.

CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

That notable exception is sending a slight chill through this otherwise excited group of summiteers here. They say that the absence of President Bush sends the wrong message. But at the same time, officials representing the United States say that they have come with messages from George Bush that he is fully engaged and that they plan to make some major announcements here at this summit.

Meanwhile, the conference has officially gotten down to the business of trying to develop an action plan that will both save the planet and the poor, the poor whose poverty often drives them to do things that are not good for the environment and its sustainability.

Today the summit will be focusing on two of the five major issues, health being one, and AIDS, which wasn't part of the discussion 10 years ago, just 10 years ago in Rio, will occupy a large part of the space.

Earlier, there were speeches. In a speech by President Thabo Mbeki, when he welcomed visitors here last night, he described something he called "global apartheid," that is poverty for the many and prosperity for the few. And to that end, the developing nations will be looking for an action plan that will address that.

But he also spoke about the expectations of the summit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. THABO MBEKI, SOUTH AFRICA: The peoples of the world expect that this world summit will live up to its promise of being a fitting culmination to a decade of hope by adopting a practical program for the translation of the dream of sustainable development into reality and bringing into being a new global society that is caring and humane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER-GAULT: Delegates, or some of the delegates are meeting behind closed doors, trying to narrow some of the few differences that remain, not least being who pays. And these are differences that exist be the North and the South. Hopefully, those will be resolved in the next 10 days of this summit -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, hopefully so.

Charlayne Hunter-Gault reporting live for us from Johannesburg this morning.

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