Climate change is effecting the peoples of the world to an ever increasing degree. The rising frequency of "once in a century" storms, the inability of regional farmers in many countries to predict or mitigate the effects of changing local weather patterns on their crops and animals, and the recent increase of seismic activity in the Pacific's "Rim of Fire", that may be attributable to the increased pressure of rising seal levels, are all strong indicators that global warming and the subsequent climate change are detrimentally impacting human society. Arguing about whether the causes are anthropogenic (human-caused) or natural is no longer relevant. Something needs to be done, and done as rapidly as feasibly possible.
President Obama has made speeches stating that "the United States cannot combat climate change by itself". While this is true and obvious, it implies that the United States is leading the charge to rectify the mistakes of the developed world's past. And that is categorically false.
Representatives of the governments of the international community will be meeting in Copenhagen in December, 2009, to discuss climate change and to announce binding carbon emissions reduction targets, to be met by 2020. Most nations will be setting targets based on their 1990 carbon emission levels, primarily due to the discussions and agreements reached formulating the Kyoto Protocol established in the early 1990s; agreed at the time by the US but not ratified by the US Senate and Congress during their denial period. Even in 2001, the Bush administration denied the reality of global warming and climate change, although they had reversed that opinion and recognized climate change as being as serious a threat to humanity as international terrorism by 2007.
At this point, President Obama has announced carbon emission reduction targets for the United States of 14 percent of 2005 levels by 2020 and 86 percent of 2005 levels by 2050. As should be obvious to anyone, he is clearly placing the onus of creating these reductions on the presidents that will follow him, rather than his own administration. Hardly a leading from the front position, or even particularly ethical. Although by then, the need should be so apparent to the citizens of the United States that future presidents may well be able to enforce the necessary measures quite easily.
Other nations are setting considerably harder targets. During pre-Copenhagen talks in Bangkok recently, the prime minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenburg, announced that his nation would set a 2020 target of a 40 percent reduction on their 1990 levels and aim to be carbon neutral by 2030. Carbon neutral means that the nation would emit no more carbon emissions than they were absorbing by carbon sequestering, whether through natural or artificial means.
I live in New Zealand; unlike most developed nations, agriculture is the primary producer of carbon emissions in New Zealand. Due to its importance to New Zealand's exports, our current government is reluctant to impose reductions upon it. Earlier this year, they were setting a target of 0 percent carbon emission reductions on 1990 levels, although this would still be considerable as our emissions have risen considerably since then. A petition run by Greenpeace NZ Inc and supported by many NZ celebrities has been running with an online website, www.signon.org.nz, since then to try to encourage the government to take a stronger stance. The petition is asking for a commitment to 40 percent reductions on 1990 levels by 2020. With two months to go until the Copenhagen meeting, the petition has amassed 140,000 signatures and the NZ government have increased their intended commitment from 0 percent to 15 to 20 percent. It may be hoped that by Copenhagen, they will have improved that to the desired 40 percent level.
Although China is the world's major emitter of carbon gases these days, the United States is still not that far behind, and has previously been the major emitter for many years. Essentially, the United States has dominated the world stage economically by being the world's worst polluter. It needs to recognize its significant share of responsibility for the current situation and step forward with commitments at least equal to other developed nations. The world's developed nations need to set high standards for themselves to encourage the developing nations to follow suit.
They also need to consider providing clean technology alternatives to developing nations. Let's allow a clean technology infrastructure to develop in such countries rather than making it too expensive through patent constraints and the greedy desire for profits. The problems related to global warming and the resultant climate change are far to significant to all of us to continue with the ideological idiocies of greed and short-sighted self interest promulgated by a capitalist economic system based on human fantasy rather than environmental truth!