Reflections on the Eve of the CHOGM and Copenhagen Summits
30/11/2009
- Opinión
The YouTube video on Indonesia sent out by Wendy Lee is further confirmation of the extent of the contribution of human action to global warming. The atmospheric pollution, so graphically shown in the video, is an indication of the future to which we might be condemned if we continue to dither on taking effective action to promote alternative development policies which could mitigate or halt environmental degradation.
As I argued in my critical analysis of the Port of Spain Declaration on Sustainable Development, the problems that Caricom and other under-industrialized countries in the South face in this area are, in many respects, qualitatively different from those faced by the industrialized countries. Moreover, all but three Caricom countries are small island states, a fact which makes us vulnerable to the effects of global warming in ways that do not affect non-island countries, except for a few low-lying ones like Bangladesh. Recent scientific projections indicate that sea levels could increase up to six feet in the course of this century. If the Greenland ice sheet were to melt entirely, sea levels could increase as much as 23 feet. Countries like ours in Caricom would be among those to suffer most from such a rise. The policies we adopt to respond to the threat of global warming must necessarily take account of our specific circumstances. Consequently, Caricom countries cannot afford to depend largely on the action that the industrialized countries in the North and the newly industrialized in the South (China, India, and Brazil) might take in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, nor should we concentrate our efforts on ensuring that adequate emission reductions form part of a binding international agreement. Such agreement is absolutely essential for everyone but it should be complemented by action that is specific and relevant to our own situation.
Source: http://www.normangirvan.info/
https://www.alainet.org/es/node/138070
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