Climate change - the Scribbler gives his tuppenny's worth!
I don't often make this blog political, but there's a time and a place for everything, and this is one of those times!
There's been a lot of talk in the last few days about the Stern report on the economic basis for tackling climate change now... here's a link to a Guardian news page (bit of liberal left reading never did anyone any harm) in case you've missed anything!
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1935616,00.html
Basically, Stern is saying that if the governments of the world work to tackle carbon emissions right away, then it might save the human race a whole lot of cost, poverty, drought, mass migration and maybe even a couple of world wars.
What's different about this report is it finally gives governments an incentive to enforce change. It effectively says, 'if you don't pay now, then you're going to pay twenty times as much and possibly see your economy collapse in a few years time.'
Importantly, this comes off the back of continuing and ever more compelling scientific evidence that has finally led to the majority of experts, and politicians accepting that unless things change, the world's going to be in big trouble.
So good news then. Let's get to work!
Well, not neccessarily. The problem with this report is it challenges the status quo. Until this point, governments have largely allowed business - that's companies, corporations and the markets - free reign to do as they wish, battling for every penny they can get, with spending too much time considering the environmental consequences of their actions seen as hampering 'progress.'
What we're beginning to realise (maybe too late) is that the free market can't be trusted to look after the most valuable thing we've got - the world we live in.
I'm not saying that the free market is neccessarily a bad thing. It's given some parts of the world huge wealth - and amazing advances in technology, medicine, and communications.
It's also left some parts of the world to cope with grinding poverty, and amongst other things has made some people very poor. Some - many - have to work in sweatshops as effective economic slaves. It means that while some people have more than they'll ever need, other people don't have enough even to live on.
The free market is driven by money. That's what capitalism is, and in the absence of a better system, that's all we have.
Businesses and companies have owners, and shareholders who are only interested in the bottom line. People want to buy the cheapest goods possible, and pay the least amount of tax.
The problem with responding to this report, the hardest thing about tackling climate change, is it goes against the way we as people have lived and worked since the dawn of time.
It means that finally, governments, economies, and people finally need to think not only of themselves, but also think of the consequences for everyone else.
That means a big change of attitude, ethos, and values.
It's going to be one of the hardest changes people have ever gone through, if we succeed. if we don't succeed, it'll be even harder. It'll be a disaster.
Here are some of the hard things that'll have to happen, in the Scribbler's view...
1) Governments/Countries will have to work together, rather than in competition with each other.
They will have to learn not to battle for the lowest possible commitment to reducing the carbon levels they produce, but instead, accept that the levels they produce - in each country - should be driven as low as possible, as quickly as possible.
The thing is, this doesn't work if 90% of countries bust a gut to reduce their carbon levels, while the other 10% save time and make money by continuing to do as they please.
This could lead to massive conflict, and even war. Perish the thought!
Joking aside, we need governments accross the world to act out of character. To suddenly realise how to talk to one another, and across all their historical, political and even religious prejudices, to agree, on this one thing. And work equally on it.
2) Business has to think primarily of the environmental impact of the way they work, rather than making money.
Sounds sensible doesn't it?
But also totally unrealistic.
When each company is judged exactly on not only how much money they make, but also how much more money they made this year than last year (it's that thing called 'progress' again) then we realise just how difficult this is going to be.
We can't trust the markets to self-regulate, however much they try and ask us to allow them to.
The markets must be given economic encouragement to cut emissions. That means that they must be taxed, or incentivised, so that not cutting emissions is more expensive than cutting them.
We, as consumers, must learn to favour not neccessarily the tastiest food, or cheapest clothing, but we need to learn to favour companies that are doing their bit. Companies should be graded on how much they have done. They should be penalised when they do not.
One kilogram of fruit flown from New Zealand, uses five kilograms of carbon to get flown here! There's something wrong with that, surely...
3) As people, we also must be made to change.
The Scribbler's as selfish as the next guy (well, almost!). So what I'm saying is not only that we need to try to do the best we can individually, but also that the government needs to give us a helping hand.
We need to be taxed, and penalised for the things we do that harm the environment. Because we can't be trusted. human nature is being selfish, let's face it!
If we are selfish, we should pay for it.
Wanna fly across the world? Pay more. Air travel is one of the least taxed areas of transport. The fuel is untaxed. That's why we can go to Barcelona for £19 at the weekend! Doesn't make sense does it?
My confession...
I love flat screen TVs, travelling all over the world by plane, eating fruit from New Zealand. I just think we've all got to start doing something about the world we live in.
I'm not going to be on the street protesting, but all I'm saying is we're all going to have to do our bit.
Soon, there'll be a backlash to the Stern report. Companies will dispute the evidence of global warming. Countries will disagree about how far to go to reduce the effects of carbon emissions. Wars may ensue as countries and politicans fight over energy, about what to do.
When they do, I just hope the whole process doesn't take too long.
Because otherwise us, our children, our grandchildren, we'll all be stuffed.
Seriously...
And cockroaches will be all that remain.
Hopefully, they'll keep my blog going for me.
There's been a lot of talk in the last few days about the Stern report on the economic basis for tackling climate change now... here's a link to a Guardian news page (bit of liberal left reading never did anyone any harm) in case you've missed anything!
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1935616,00.html
Basically, Stern is saying that if the governments of the world work to tackle carbon emissions right away, then it might save the human race a whole lot of cost, poverty, drought, mass migration and maybe even a couple of world wars.
What's different about this report is it finally gives governments an incentive to enforce change. It effectively says, 'if you don't pay now, then you're going to pay twenty times as much and possibly see your economy collapse in a few years time.'
Importantly, this comes off the back of continuing and ever more compelling scientific evidence that has finally led to the majority of experts, and politicians accepting that unless things change, the world's going to be in big trouble.
So good news then. Let's get to work!
Well, not neccessarily. The problem with this report is it challenges the status quo. Until this point, governments have largely allowed business - that's companies, corporations and the markets - free reign to do as they wish, battling for every penny they can get, with spending too much time considering the environmental consequences of their actions seen as hampering 'progress.'
What we're beginning to realise (maybe too late) is that the free market can't be trusted to look after the most valuable thing we've got - the world we live in.
I'm not saying that the free market is neccessarily a bad thing. It's given some parts of the world huge wealth - and amazing advances in technology, medicine, and communications.
It's also left some parts of the world to cope with grinding poverty, and amongst other things has made some people very poor. Some - many - have to work in sweatshops as effective economic slaves. It means that while some people have more than they'll ever need, other people don't have enough even to live on.
The free market is driven by money. That's what capitalism is, and in the absence of a better system, that's all we have.
Businesses and companies have owners, and shareholders who are only interested in the bottom line. People want to buy the cheapest goods possible, and pay the least amount of tax.
The problem with responding to this report, the hardest thing about tackling climate change, is it goes against the way we as people have lived and worked since the dawn of time.
It means that finally, governments, economies, and people finally need to think not only of themselves, but also think of the consequences for everyone else.
That means a big change of attitude, ethos, and values.
It's going to be one of the hardest changes people have ever gone through, if we succeed. if we don't succeed, it'll be even harder. It'll be a disaster.
Here are some of the hard things that'll have to happen, in the Scribbler's view...
1) Governments/Countries will have to work together, rather than in competition with each other.
They will have to learn not to battle for the lowest possible commitment to reducing the carbon levels they produce, but instead, accept that the levels they produce - in each country - should be driven as low as possible, as quickly as possible.
The thing is, this doesn't work if 90% of countries bust a gut to reduce their carbon levels, while the other 10% save time and make money by continuing to do as they please.
This could lead to massive conflict, and even war. Perish the thought!
Joking aside, we need governments accross the world to act out of character. To suddenly realise how to talk to one another, and across all their historical, political and even religious prejudices, to agree, on this one thing. And work equally on it.
2) Business has to think primarily of the environmental impact of the way they work, rather than making money.
Sounds sensible doesn't it?
But also totally unrealistic.
When each company is judged exactly on not only how much money they make, but also how much more money they made this year than last year (it's that thing called 'progress' again) then we realise just how difficult this is going to be.
We can't trust the markets to self-regulate, however much they try and ask us to allow them to.
The markets must be given economic encouragement to cut emissions. That means that they must be taxed, or incentivised, so that not cutting emissions is more expensive than cutting them.
We, as consumers, must learn to favour not neccessarily the tastiest food, or cheapest clothing, but we need to learn to favour companies that are doing their bit. Companies should be graded on how much they have done. They should be penalised when they do not.
One kilogram of fruit flown from New Zealand, uses five kilograms of carbon to get flown here! There's something wrong with that, surely...
3) As people, we also must be made to change.
The Scribbler's as selfish as the next guy (well, almost!). So what I'm saying is not only that we need to try to do the best we can individually, but also that the government needs to give us a helping hand.
We need to be taxed, and penalised for the things we do that harm the environment. Because we can't be trusted. human nature is being selfish, let's face it!
If we are selfish, we should pay for it.
Wanna fly across the world? Pay more. Air travel is one of the least taxed areas of transport. The fuel is untaxed. That's why we can go to Barcelona for £19 at the weekend! Doesn't make sense does it?
My confession...
I love flat screen TVs, travelling all over the world by plane, eating fruit from New Zealand. I just think we've all got to start doing something about the world we live in.
I'm not going to be on the street protesting, but all I'm saying is we're all going to have to do our bit.
Soon, there'll be a backlash to the Stern report. Companies will dispute the evidence of global warming. Countries will disagree about how far to go to reduce the effects of carbon emissions. Wars may ensue as countries and politicans fight over energy, about what to do.
When they do, I just hope the whole process doesn't take too long.
Because otherwise us, our children, our grandchildren, we'll all be stuffed.
Seriously...
And cockroaches will be all that remain.
Hopefully, they'll keep my blog going for me.
posted by The Scribbler at 1:56 PM
1 comments
