The Brazilian government is wrong in its climate change diplomacy. It has been supporting the idea that developing countries have no obligation to put a cap on greenhouse gases emissions. China and India take the same position. Their point is that the gasses accumulated in the Earth’s atmosphere today were generated by industrialized countries since the first Industrial Revolution and, therefore, rich countries have to assume responsibility for them.
The point seems on the surface to be a fair one, but it is not. Obviously the rich countries are guiltier. It is unacceptable that the United States, responsible for 25% of the world’s emissions, has never joined international efforts to set limits on greenhouses gases. However, this is a myopic point of view. The issue is not only about past deeds, but also about how to change the present situation in order to mitigate future disasters. Present emissions, for which these countries are also largely responsible, will cause further global warming in the future.
Brazil, India and China are quite different among themselves and are threatening the environment in different ways. The worst Brazilian sin is Amazonia deforestation – the world’s largest rainforest is being destroyed at a frightening pace. Over the last four years, the cumulative amount of deforestation represents three times the area of the State of Massachusetts. The Brazilian government excuses itself with figures showing a decline in the annual rate of deforestation. That’s true, but it’s not good enough. The only acceptable target is to stop completely the destruction of the rainforest.
Brazil has some strong points. The national pattern of energy consumption is based on renewable sources, mainly hydroelectricity, and 40% of the fuel consumed in automobiles is biofuel. Our ethanol program began in the 1970’s and today consumers can find ethanol even in small and remote gas stations.
China and India have enormous populations and patterns of fast and unsustainable growth, which are putting in danger their countries and the planet as a whole. This week has been emblematic in showing Chinese contradictions. Their official news agency reported that the Yangtze River is being devastated by 14 billion tons of waste thrown into its water annually. The river represents 35% of the country’s total fresh water resources and it is dying. In the same week, China used its veto power in the UN Security Council – together with Russia, another global warming culprit – to avoid discussing climate change, alleging that this is not a security issue. What does the Chinese government think could be more of an issue of security than the water supply to the world’s largest population?
Brazil, India and China have a point in common. Their officials and diplomats support the idea that the developing countries should have license to pollute in order to achieve the same level of development the rich countries already have. It shows their shortsightedness. First of all, “developing country” is an imperfect definition to apply to these countries. They are middle-income countries, regional powers on their own, and China is an intermediate global power rising rapidly. Second, environmental destruction will not guarantee development. Quite the contrary, in Brazil deforestation has, over the long run, produced desertification and poverty.
These three countries have more responsibility than they are willing to accept in the global arena. When they refuse to set limits on their levels of emissions, they are making an implicit alliance with the world’s largest emitter: the United States of America. It’s time to become rational and to think beyond our national boundaries. It’s time to cooperate and build a planetary strategy.
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