ABSTRACT
It was not mainstream thinking only that focused on money during Rio. Money was also what the Southern elite wanted. Indeed, as McCoy and McCully say : 'Although they initially saw the "environment" element of UNCED as a threat to their "right to develop", Southern governments soon realized how the North's stated environmental concerns might be used to extract economic concessions'. 1 Lobbying from Third World NGOs, especially the TWN, played a major role in persuading their governments of the advantages of this strategy, which was supported by most Northern NGOs. The Third World NGOs also played an important role in getting Southern governments to adopt a common negotiating position under the umbrella of G-77. China, which is not a member of G-77, normally supported the G-77 position. The G-77' s arguments were summed up by its chairman, Ambassador Jamsheed K.A. Marker of Pakistan, who told the fourth and final Prep Com that 'the major cause of the continuing deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of production and consumption, particularly in the industrialized countries', and that therefore 'developed countries must provide the major part of the resources required for sustainable development' . 2 The ' sustainable development' of the Third World should be paid for by the unsustainable development of the First.
