It all happened on expected lines. Wastage of time, money and man power or human potential. Yes, I am referring to the Copenhagen Summit on climate change from December 7 – 19, 2009 held at the Danish Capital of Copenhagen. A gathering of the World leaders and eco-friendly representatives from across the Globe to chalk out a strategy to contain the menace of Global Warming which has emerged as an existential crisis before the whole world.
While this summit was going on with cautious optimism, hopes, arguments, anxiety, sometimes despair and fear among the most vulnerable nations like Maldives, Nepal and the least developed nations - they are umpteen - a group of anti-global warming activists with the patronage of the worst culprits, the anti-global warming firms most of them from the developed countries who keep no concerns about the future generation whose future they are cooking for their momentary gratification. To fill and expand their coffers. The so-called intellectuals including geologists were actually holding on to the coat tails of these corporate giants nursing dreams of amassing incentives in the form of huge bonuses and career prospects without an iota of conscience.
Now they can pop up the champagne bottles and splash on each other with exhilaration. Let them rejoice, but the mute question is how long. How long they can continue to deceive the easily vulnerable common citizens who fall easily in their traps listening to their disinformation campaigns through blogs, websites and media remain to be seen. Among those who will be among the list to perish include the super power - no amount of funds will be coming to their rescue from going under when things take a dangerous turn. I mean the rising sea levels, increasing temperature, receding glaciers, droughts, floods, hurricanes, the disappearance of bio-diversity, such whole lot. The ultimate sufferers are the mankind as a whole. Extinction won’t be selective.
Much before the Copenhagen Summit was going to be held from December 7 - 19, 2009, in a sense we were all hoping against hopes as it is inherent in human nature. Nobody was sure or optimistic about a durable solution. But all kept hopes for something positive to emerge out of the impasse. Because it was and is the question of human existence and prosperity.
When all hopes were about to be dashed to the ground, the most shrewd and diplomatic with his muscle flexing before other nations especially the developing and most under-developed nations a President in the form of Barack Obama emerged from nowhere forcefully presented a face-saving device not legally binding ‘accept this or get lost’ (Pity he has to hide his helplessness).
As already mentioned it was a face-saving one just to display before the world to prove its might and also make others feel that something positive had emerged in the end.
Barring the leaders of BASIC countries who take pride in calling themselves ‘emerging economies’ yes I am mentioning here India, Brazil, South Africa and China bowed down before the pressure exerted by the ‘Super Power’ the under-developed nations inspite of their precarious existence kept their self-respect intact and walked out of the summit loudly declaring it a charade and deception.
UN Secretary General, Ban-Ki-Moon, who was instrumental in holding the summit under the auspices of UNFCC (United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change) had to surrender before the pressure of this Super Power, was forced to make a shameful speech before the whole world by praising the face-saving formula. He had to otherwise would also have lost his prestige as the head of the UN.
Now UN Climate Chief Yvo Boer unable to face the criticism levelled against him for failing to take necessary steps to check the greenhouse gas emissions to the much expected level tendered his resignation and has decided to work for an international firm as a climate change expert. How is it possible to blame him for his lapses and if another gentleman was in his place, the outcome would not have been different. The developed nations are pulling in different directions as most of them are indifferent to the rising global warming most probably due to the non-cooperation and unwillingness on the part of the corporate giants of the respective countries and also from some political forces on whose co-operation their policies depend.
For instance, during Clinton era the Kyoto Summit held at Tokyo in 1997 attended by nations around the world taking into the enormity of this global menace, Kyoto protocol came into existence and unfortunately the bill was thwarted in the US Congress. A step in the right direction in embryo aborted.
The demands from various quarters not to do away with the Kyoto Protocol though still reverberate in the atmosphere no chance of it getting implemented is seen especially after a name-sake formula was accepted at Copenhagen.
Obama’s efforts on the matter of containing greenhouse gas emissions are seeming to be sincere. He took a few initiatives to contain the emissions to a certain extent. His initiatives have also proved in vain with the back-tracking of three prominent energy firms in USA, BP America, Catterpillar which makes heavy equipment and the Concophilips-America’s 3rd largest oil company citing Mr.Obama’s efforts ‘to cast his climate and energy agenda as a pro-business, job creation plan’ thus upsetting his green energy agenda.
Some experts suggest a Carbon Tax from the firms to bring down the emissions to an appreciable level. His aims are in the direction of setting up nuclear reactors to shift the focus from depending upon energy from coal firms.
While discussions, debates, seminars and arguments continue with all seriousness across the nations, the threat of global warming is looming large on the horizon.
Stop talking about holding more seminars forming committees and prolonging the whole process and it is high time those responsible took durable solution or else face extinction from the face of the earth.
Summits after summits, fiascos after fiascos, all solutions getting elusive all of us should feel ashamed of ourselves.
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