Copenhagen Climate Conference

While the leaders and the people of the world are fully aware if we fail to act, the world will be environmentally unsustainable for the human race. All the worry for our children’s children’s children future is nothing but rhetoric hot air if no one is prepared to take a meaningful and painful sacrifice. The west and the rich have plundered the world in the last few centuries. Now these people are standing from the moral high ground to lecture the world what need to be done to save the world. They had conveniently forgotten the environmental damage and pollution they had inflicted on the earth as they become developed countries.

These are the major contentions that are obstacle to an agreement on how to cut carbon emission. The poor and developing countries want to develop but are very concern the new rule on carbon emission demanded by the richer countries will hinder its progress. The rich countries are not prepared to provide a meaningful financial assistance. There is unhappiness that the rich and developed countries do not fully acknowledge and account for the destruction of the earth committed in the past.

The UN Copenhagen Climate Conference is supposed to address all the issues of climatic changes and to provide a framework to make the world more sustainable, and also bridging the gap between the various countries. It is an uphill battle to get consensus between the rich and the poor and among the big countries like China, India and developed countries like the USA and Europe. At the rate the talk is proceeding and the world leaders are supposed to meet in a few days time, agreement is nowhere near. Looks like it will just end with agreement for more talk!

It boils down to each countries fighting for their immediate interest. Each government need to protect its own interest as well as to guard their political interest. What the points of agreeing on climate change but lose the election. How many elected government has the political will to ask its citizen to drive smaller cars, use less air-conditioning or eat less meat. Will company willing to spend more for environmental protection and tell shareholders that they will make less profit. For the developing countries, tell its farmers not to burn waste in open, cut down trees or clear forest for agricultural plantations.

Then there are the problems of implementation on agreed emission cut on greenhouse gas. Who will monitor the compliance of the agreed emission cut? How can we trust the fund paid by rich countries did not go to wrong hands and funds are properly used for the right purposes? What if the rich countries renege on the agreement? How will countries like China and India enforce the agreement on its factories where they are unscrupulously motivated by profit rather than clean environment? Corruption in developing countries will be the greatest obstacles to monitoring compliance.

As I see it, there is just no compelling motivation and fear from the bottom up. That is, the citizens of the world are unable to see the urgency and the need to take immediate actions to save the world as it does not affect their present lifestyle. The globalise world have driven people to be materialistic. And human being by nature are selfish, will not see the urgency to do something that will not affect them in their life time. How many are so magnanimous and really care for the children’s children’s children's future! And deny themselves and their children the luxury and comfort that we work so hard to afford these.

The world will be very green if we can live with only the bare necessities. Can we?

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