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A preview of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Bali Conference, December 2007 and its real- world outcomes.
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But then let's not get too cynical. There are some bright folk there but getting consensus is always nigh impossible. Especially where America is concerned.
The last big meeting I recall being held in Bali was the WSSD Preparatory meeting. There was a famous glitch by the chair, who did not realise his microphone was live and commented for all to hear "What are we going to do about America?" Indeed. The tee shirts were available on the street the next day, or so I am told. I refuse to attend these do's - I would have to plant even more trees!
The fact is that America and her corporate lackeys totalled any meaningful outcome from the 2002 WSSD, but that is another story.
However, the climate related question remains. What are we going to do about America? The question has become amplified over the past half a decade, echoing across the emptiness of the vacuum of failure to respond. Perhaps we should drag America to an altar and offered it a sacrifice? Or at least the idiot boy king and his henchmen can stand in for the rest of corporate America? That would make a whole lot of people feel a lot better but would unfortunately not achieve much as there are lots more little mini-me idiot boy king bush clones out there, being bought by corporate power as I write this.
The other alternative, which would be equally as unpalatable at this august gathering, would be to hold some feet to the fire. Here I would suggest that the issues of externalities be examined. Specifically the externalisation of profit sapping effects of climate change that we all bear the cost for, on behalf of Enron, Exxon, Shell, BP (beyond petroleum my big foot) and of course our own South African special, Sasol, the oil from coal mega emitter, who just happens to be singularly responsible for constructing and running the worlds biggest single point CO2 point emission at Secunda. And our energy generator Eskom who is no slouch at burning coal to sell to global aluminium corporations. Yes, South Africa is a proud member of an exclusive club of political- corporate carbon emitters, but more of that later.
Each and every one of these aforementioned global energy giants is responsible for massive environmental externalisation of the profitable emission of greenhouse gasses. And we, the people of planet earth should hold them responsible and accountable. This is our beholden duty.
Of course, let us not forget we must equally hold ourselves responsible. We each emit untoward amounts of carbon dioxide. Just using my computer to do this is contributing, unless I rely on solar power or ride a bike to generate power while I type, which I should but don't. But the fact is that we are rather less able to reduce our impact than we are able to make it economically viable to change how things are done. It is, after all, the dominant system that is the cause of all of our climate related problems.
Efficiency is rewarded. And the most efficient corporations are the most profitable and the most profitable inevitably are responsible for maximising the externalisation of their ecological imprint on Gaia. So how do we change the system?
I like to keep things simple and one of the best and most simple ideas I have yet seen is a little treatise put together by a chap called Peter Barnes, called Capitalism 3.0. Like all good ideas and concepts it's available as a free download - if only the greedy could realise and manifest this reality!
However Mr Barnes' treatise sets out a few nice ways that we could move towards reducing the externalisation of cost and impact. He suggests, briefly, that all goods that are extracted from or impact upon our planet are part of a trust that is, or should be, owned by us all. Of course one problem is this idea is anathema to any capitalist stuck in capitalism 2.0, which is the corporate model, or 1.0 which is the classic model, so to speak.
Capitalism 3.0 is one idea that should be circulated at Bali, but I doubt very many of the very clever people there have heard of it, or if they have, I doubt somehow that it is very high on the agenda. Instead they will be getting stuck into details of a pre-ordained text that has been circulated and discussed by our misnamed global leadership for some time now. There will be no real time for meta- analysis of the problems we face. We live, as if accursed, in the age of specialisation.
So climate change frameworks will be dealt with by the climate change framework specialists. Who, I am sure, all mean well and are sharp as Monty Python and want to do the right thing. But (and you knew I was going to put a but in here, didn't you?) if there is no meta-analysis of the issues there will be no real progress.
We need a new system. I am not saying here that Capitalism 3.0 is the final solution. What I am saying is that it is one truly constructive part of a shift towards a final solution. But the true final solution must include bringing corporate control of global resources under democratic control. If we fail to manage this, we fail to gain any proper control of the global ecosystem degradation in a manner that even begins to approach a meaningful solution.
The power and single minded approach of an immortal entity (which is what a corporation is), that has all of the rights of a human (as a corporation has) and which has resources far in excess of what any humans have (51 of the worlds 100 largest economies are corporations, 49 are nation states) must be brought under responsible and democratic human control. At the moment the corporate machine controls the political systems in all of world's wealthiest nations. We live in a political-corporate nexus. And until we break this nexus we are stuffed, like a dodo in a museum.
So I predict that this Bali climate bash will be another waste of time in a beautiful place, that far too few delegates will be able to enjoy or absorb. Mind you, carbon burning tourism has probably degraded what charms Bali once had, to a mere shadow of their former selves - says my cynical, somewhat jealous side.
But most of the climate change experts and wonks, having all flown to another conference on the other side of the world - Bali must qualify as that, at least for most westerners anyway - have contributed to the problem more than they will help solve it. If America has anything to do with it - and it has, un-bloody-fortunately.
I hope my cynical stance on what is an urgently needed intervention is nothing more than that - a cynical take on a meaningful intervention. But I have my doubts. I simultaneously wonder whether it's not all a bit late anyway. I hope not, for the sake of my children and their children in turn.
Another solution I propose is to become very angry with America and other exploitative neo-colonialist regimes. Boycott them and avoid, wherever possible, the fruits of their exploitation. Reduce them to irrelevancy by ignoring their currency of last resort that is no longer and their goods sourced from sweatshops and hateful practices.
And so with America, so with every single exploitative corporation. Shift away from reliance on them and instead support a transition to local reliance on community, on nation and on sustainably managed resources, be they wind, solar, communal transport or open space. Create a better world instead of waiting for a cavern full of well-intentioned people to create it for us. Only to be undermined by the bully in the room.
In the meantime we must continue to look at the meta-picture and analyse just how we have to change the very core of our system if we are to avoid a doomed fate. Certainly we have to look at the details but until we harness and control these greedy, single minded profit seeking corporate exploitation machines that are capitalism writ large on the face of our beautiful and delicate planet, until then we have little hope but to sell indulgences for carbon liberation into the atmosphere to those who can afford it.
While those of us who can least afford it suffer the consequences.
The irony is that even the poor bastards getting rich on the back of corporate power live on this world. They are trapped on a treadmill like my daughters sweet, harmless little hamster. Poor silly bastards. Dragging us all down with them………..unless of course we stop them from doing so……….
Have we any other choice?
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