US defies critics with business deals to aid environment

The United States, which has been accused of derailing progress at the United Nations earth summit, launched a diplomatic counter-offensive yesterday, rolling out public-private sector partnerships which the Bush administration claims are the best means of fighting global poverty and protecting the environment.

But environmentalists have dismissed the so-called "Type 2" partnerships, which are backed by Britain, saying they help big businesses increase profits rather than help the poor.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, Margaret Beckett, will mirror the much-criticised US initiative by launching the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (Reeep) today. It involves several developing countries and big business like Shell and IT Power in a variety of renewable energy projects.

Type 2 partnerships are combined voluntary efforts by governments, the private sector and non-governmental organisations. They differ from Type 1 partnerships, which are agreements among governments.

Environmentalists say the Type 2 partnerships provide a way for governments to offload their responsibility to provide essential services like clean water, sanitation and energy.

The businesses involved would avoid strict regulation and in many cases increase profits by levying charges for basic services on people who can afford them least. Some critics have labelled the agreements "partnerships in crime".

Friends of the Earth said privatisation of water supplies in nations from Bolivia to the Philippines had resulted in higher prices. Nearly one in five people, or 1.1 billion of the world's population, have no access to drinking water.

"They're supposed to be working up an action plan with targets and timetables and the means of implementation. We can talk about partnerships after they've done that," Greenpeace's climate policy director, Steve Sawyer, said.

But US government officials defended the partnerships as indicating America's willingness to solve problems in poor countries. America has been accused of slowing progress at the summit because of its opposition to setting new targets to tackle poverty.

"The United States is the world's leader in sustainable development," the Under Secretary of State, Paula Dobriansky, said. "No other nation has made a greater and more concrete commitment."

One US public-private sector partnership unveiled yesterday is dedicated to completing the global elimination of lead from petrol and to reducing sulphur levels in diesel, which will allow for advanced emissions controls on trucks and diesel cars.

It will involve UN organisations, the US Environmental Protection Agency, British Petroleum, Japanese and European carmakers, and activist groups such as the Natural Resources Defence Council, which is based in the US.

Another US partnership project will involve expanding efforts to protect Congo basin forests with an additional $53m (£34m) over four years. Another multi-nation project will be given $43m to provide energy for poor communities.

The total US investment in partnerships could be more than $2.4bn over the next four years, according to Ms Dobriansky, who is leading the US delegation until the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, takes over next week.

The US officials said the Bush administration's plans to spend more than $1.2bn next year fighting Aids, malaria and tuberculosis in the developing world also proved its readiness to tackle global poverty.

The partnership announcements were probably the Bush administration's first significant public announcement at the summit, which runs until next Wednesday.

Several environmental groups said there were no clear mechanisms to monitor the partnerships to ensure that they gave benefit to the public. They would also result in levies because no businesses would invest in the partnerships without guaranteed returns.