Well they do have a use, but we should never believe that any international conference is going to suddenly solve problems like the condition of the global environment.
Anyone who is seriously interested in me would usually do a little more homework and realise that the extreme criticisms are almost exclusively ideologically based.
My belief is that the purpose of economic life is to meet the social needs of people.
I learn something from criticism because when it comes from sources you respect you always examine it and learn.
The Earth Charter is important as an expression of the commitment of people throughout the Earth to evoke their own deepest moral, spiritual and ethical principles in the task of ensuring a sustainable future for those who inhabit the Earth now and those who will follow us on the Earth.
Rumors of my wealth are greatly exaggerated. I have never been interested in money.
The combination of population growth and the growth in consumption is a danger that we are not prepared for and something we will need global co-operation on.
Not to say that corporations are perfect today, but even grand corporations like Dupont have made immense progress in translating some of their past environmentally damaging practices into new profit opportunities.
I am convinced the prophets of doom have to be taken seriously.
Licences to have babies incidentally is something that I got in trouble for some years ago for suggesting even in Canada that this might be necessary at some point, at least some restriction on the right to have a child.
Inertia is a powerful force in human and political affairs.
I’ve got used to criticisms and, naturally, I try to make sure I don’t listen to the more extreme ones because most of the people who have taken their right-wing extremist view of my life are people that I’ve never met.
We’re either going to save the world or no one will be saved.
I’ve developed a huge regard for Toyota for its environmental awareness, for its immense commitment to research and development in this field, and for its leadership in developing hybrids which others are now following.
One of the things that Ive always thought I would like to do is to develop an environmental index. Then people can measure their own environmental performance on an index as they do in other ways.
I believe we are going to move into a situation where the more effective conferences will be smaller, more specialized, more focused, with occasional large gatherings to get the attention of the larger world.
I am on the board of corporations who contribute both to environmental problems and their solutions. And I am on the NGO side: the Earth Council and other organizations.
The Prime Minister of India, at a meeting that I co-chaired a few months ago, stated that any development that is not sustainable is not development.
I was with Ted Turner when he came to see Kofi Annan – the Secretary-General of the UN – to announce his decision to put $1 billion to the service of UN projects and programs.
We owe at least this much to future generations, from whom we have borrowed a fragile planet called Earth.