The gloves are off! After several days of very cordial and positive talks things began to break down here in Copenhagen. The poor countries and island states in the Pacific are expressing their displeasure with a document leaked to the press that appears to be an affront to the openness and transparency that is supposed to be part of the protocol of COP15, the UN Climate Conference.
The report in question was a memo from Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen, which states that the intention of Great Britain, Denmark and the US is to go for a political agreement rather than a legally binding one. It further suggested targets that would allow the three countries to pollute twice as much as the poorer emerging countries. The parties to the agreement are trying to put a positive spin on it. Obama spoksperson, Todd Stern said this afternoon, that the US agrees with the Danish Prime Minister, that a few months ago it was clear that it would be impossible to obtain a judicial binding agreement in Copenhagen. “ The last thing we want is that this political agreement, will replace a Judicial agreement. That’s not what this is about. I cannot say what our deadline is, but it has to be soon.” Stern said.
But, people have begun to loose patience as the climate change toll increases. A new German report states that more than 600,000 people have died because of extreme weather since 1990, as a result of tropical storms, floods, hurricanes, massive rainfall and drought. No less than 11,000 extreme weather conditions are the cause of the loss of these lives according to the German climate organization Germanwatch. The cost is estimated at 1,600 billion US Dollars. Hardest hit are Bangladesh, Burma and Honduras.
A big question here is, have we in the western world an economic debt to the poor countries because of the climate changes? The poorer countries feel that our continued consumer lifestyle is the cause of the devastation that they are experiencing. Do we have a moral debt to support these people who are not asking for charity, but for support in reducing their own pollution and upgrading to advanced technologies that will benefit the whole process? The amounts they are asking for seem paltry when compared to the Wall Street bailout…
“Utopia Or Oblivion” — Buckminster Fuller
“Hegemony Or Survival” — Noam Chomsky
How on Earth did we think that we could put profit first in our every transaction and survive? — Mary Nelson
good question Mary.
Love,
ms
An emphatic YES! we do have a moral and monetary responsibility to help those people who are being deeply affected by the life style of excess that is taken for granted in the western world. Even if we’re in recession we need to act now. Where there’s a will there’s a way. It seems that military buildup and war are the main things that there is always a willingness to spend money on. Our objective should be peace and reasonable abundance for everyone and for every country.