Climate crossroads
'One world, one dream,' is Beijing's motto for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But it means different things to different people and, in most cases, what the world dreams about is very different from what Beijing's leaders dream. If the capital's self-congratulating municipal leaders ever awake from their haze of cognac and rich banquets, they will find themselves in one of the most polluted environments in human history. For mainland China's citizens, its cities are miserable places to live. For the rest of the world, they are part of the threat to humanity's very existence.
Next year the mainland will become the world's single-largest polluter and emitter of greenhouse gases. Its recent achievements can be measured in clogged highways, overbuilt infrastructure and an excessive construction boom linked to the Olympics. The mainland's many golf courses reflect the nouveau-riche vulgarity of its values, when clean water is so scarce. Mainland officials should ask themselves: we can give our children money and cars, but can we offer them water to drink?
Those officials would be well advised to visit Bangladesh rather than Las Vegas to understand the future we are rushing towards. Global warming causes continual flooding in that poverty-stricken nation's lowlands. In a recent interview there, economist Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, analysed the dilemma our world faces. 'Global warming is now at a serious stage, and greenhouse gas emissions are' increasing, he said. 'Europe is concerned, but the USA does nothing and refuses to sign the Kyoto Protocol. All [China's] power is based on dirty fuel, and China's emissions will become worse and worse. Next to follow is India. So, now three nations have joined the club.'
Both China and India refuse to cut carbon emissions unless wealthy countries such as the United States take the lead. It's a logical argument, since those three nations must join forces if any realistic programme of emissions cuts is to be achieved. Former US president Bill Clinton recently supported the China-India position, telling the Financial Times: 'I think unless we take the lead in the United States, we'll never get the Indians and Chinese to do it.'
Dr Yunus offered a deeper explanation. 'The real problem is lifestyle,' he said. 'We can agree about having 'non-smoking' areas in public places because one's smoking may destroy another's health. What about wastefulness of lifestyle? How can some nations retain lifestyles that destroy other peoples?'
For example, he said, buying gas-guzzling vehicles is not consistent with the planet's survival. 'How can you enjoy life on this planet if your lifestyle destroys this planet?' he said. 'It is like partying on a boat while lighting a bonfire on that same boat.' And now China is aping America's wasteful lifestyle, he noted.
According to Dr Yunus, there are obvious, pragmatic steps that must be taken. The Kyoto Protocol, he notes, is not binding on nations that fail to ratify it; the world now needs a climate change deal that is mandatory for all nations. 'It must be done through the United Nations, and done now,' he said. 'There is not enough time left before 2012 [when Kyoto expires]. By the year 2050, we must reduce our greenhouse gases by 50 per cent. But the US [has not ratified] the protocol. So we must get it to join.'
The US, China and India, three major polluters, must adhere to clear commitments to reduce greenhouse gases - leading the rest of the world to follow suit. The recalcitrant Bush administration will be voted out next year. China and India are in a position to lead, putting economic and diplomatic pressure on Washington. But those nations' leaders must stand up rather than being sycophants, and they must cut greenhouse emissions at home.
Nobody cares about a narcissistic Olympics building spree. If the world has one dream in common, it is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is a question of humanity's very survival.
Laurence Brahm is a political economist, author, filmmaker and founder of Shambhala Foundation
