THE QUESTION

People jump on America for dragging its feet on global warming; what about developing countries like China, India and Brazil? Will this "planetary emergency" bring rich and poor nations closer together or drive them further apart?

Posted by Zakaria, Ignatius & Ahn on April 18, 2007 9:48 AM

FROM THE PANEL

William M. Gumede is Associate Editor at Africa Confidential. He is Research Fellow at the School of Public and Development Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He recently released the bestselling book Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC.

Africans Don’t Even Have Dirty Fuel

It is true that the poor in developing countries are the least to blame for global warming, but yet will suffer the most from it. Yet Africa's poor already lack many basic needs, and taking steps to fight global warming may bear even greater costs for them.

William M. Gumede South Africa | 0 COMMENTS
Apr 23, 2007 at 9:19 AM
Mubashar Jawed Akbar is a leading Indian journalist and author. He's the founder and editor-in-chief of The Asian Age, a daily multi-edition Indian newspaper with a global perspective and editor-in-chief of The Deccan Chronicle, a news daily based in Hyderabad. He has written books including Blood Brothers, Nehru: The Making of India, Kashmir: Behind the Vale, Riot After Riot, The Shade of Swords, and India: The Siege Within.

Hypocrisy and the Good Life

There won't be a world war over global warming, but there won't be global peace either.

M.J. Akbar India | 3 COMMENTS
Apr 22, 2007 at 1:08 PM
Shekhar Gupta is the editor-in-chief of The Indian Express in New Delhi.

India’s With Pakistan: Rich Must Fix This

While awareness and concern about the effects of climate change has increased dramatically in the past few months in India, there is no real support for what’s seen as a rich-driven agenda to reverse this. Committing to standards the developed world never committed to would harm India's growth.

shekhar gupta India | 2 COMMENTS
Apr 21, 2007 at 11:59 AM
Kyoko Altman has worked as a correspondent and anchor for CNN and CNBC, and as a news-magazine reporter for Japan's top-ranked news program 'News Station' on TV Asahi. She has covered more than twenty countries.

China – World's Next Eco-Villain

China is set to overtake the U.S. as the world's biggest carbon emitter as early as this year. Like other developing countries, its leaders argue that rich countries should clean up their own emissions instead of restricting others' growth. But China's poorest citizens already suffer from the effects of environmental damage.

Kyoko Altman Hong Kong, China | 16 COMMENTS
Apr 19, 2007 at 1:58 PM
Former Washington-based columnist for The Hong Kong Standard, The New York Sun, and Insight on the News, an online weekly published by The Washington Times. Covered economic and political relations between the United States and East Asia, with an emphasis on China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Former chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association. Currently a business executive at a Chinese-language newspaper in Hong Kong.

Staying in Power Trumps Environment

China, second to the U.S. in carbon dioxide emissions, is unlikely to do much about global warming. The regime's priority is domestic stability, in order to maintain political power. They certainly don't want coordinated action in the UN -- and in that, China and the U.S. may find common ground.

Kin-ming Liu Hong Kong | 14 COMMENTS
Apr 19, 2007 at 9:17 AM
Endy M. Bayuni took up the job of chief editor of The Jakarta Post, Indonesia’s independent and leading English language newspaper, in August 2004 shortly after he returned from a one-year Nieman Fellowship at the Harvard University. Endy has been with the newspaper since 1991, working his way up from Production Manager (Night Editor), to National Editor, Managing Editor, and Deputy Chief Editor through all those years. He previously worked as the Indonesian correspondent for Reuters and Agence France-Presse between 1984 and 1991, and began his journalistic career with The Jakarta Post in 1983. Endy completed his Bachelors of Arts degree in economics from Kingston University in Surrey, England, in 1981.

SE Asia's Islands At Risk

We all contribute to global warming. Both the U.S. and developing countries need to change the mentality of "I'll do my part if you do yours" and realize everyone must make lifestyle changes to save our planet. Indonesia's islands are particularly at risk of natural disaster -- or of eventually sinking.

Endy Bayuni Jakarta, Indonesia | 8 COMMENTS
Apr 18, 2007 at 5:10 PM
Miriam Leitao is a reporter and columnist for O Globo and Radio CBN in Brazil. She is also a commentator on Globo TV Network and runs her own blog, www.miriamleitao.com, hosted at Globo online at www.oglobo.com.br. She was awarded Columbia University’s Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 2005.

Don't Excuse Brazil's Deforestation

Brazil, like India and China, argues that the rich countries created today's global warming and developing countries should be allowed to develop as they did. But their policy is wrong. Destroying the Amazon rainforest harms the entire world, and Brazil must take responsibility for it.

Miriam Leitao Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 11 COMMENTS
Apr 18, 2007 at 12:12 PM
Miklós Vámos is a Hungarian novelist, screenwriter and talk show host. He is one of the most read and respected writers in his native Hungary. He has taught at Yale University on a Fulbright fellowship, served as The Nation’s East European correspondent, worked as consultant on the Oscar-winning film Mephisto, and presented Hungary’s most-watched cultural television show. Vámos has received numerous awards for his plays, screenplays, novels and short stories, including the Hungarian Merit Award for lifetime achievement. The Book of Fathers is considered his most accomplished novel and has sold 200,000 copies in Hungary.

AIDS & Terrorism Didn't Bring Us Together

There are so many common problems in the world that have not been solved. Famine, AIDS and terrorism are planetary emergencies, yet rich and poor nations remain far apart. And governments elected every four years care little about long-term global warming.

Miklos Vamos Budapest, Hungary | 4 COMMENTS
Apr 18, 2007 at 8:37 AM

READER RESPONSE

» Greg Cross | As a Scientist, it is alarming to see how many people - who are, incidentally, NOT scientists - dispute the volumes of data gathered thus far to suppo...
» George Evanick | If Al Gore and company want me to take their human induced global warming alarmism seriously, they all need to set a much better example. Carbon cr...
» Vic van Meter | The scientific evidence for global warming is much more astounding than most people realize. It is necessary to look up the topic if you are unsure o...
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