Naomi Klein minces no words in confronting the corporate structure that purports to be fighting for the conservation of the environment while it does the bare minimal in curbing pollution. These organizations, ‘Big Green Movements’ partner with the polluting companies and states in very questionable working relationships that do not work to reduce emissions in any tangible way.
People are very hesitant of taking action, and the general belief is that a solution will gradually present itself. This idea is what Klein terms as ‘waiting for the magic pill’ (188). These include the beliefs that the free market will resolve the problem, wealthy philanthropists will step in and address the situation, or that some technological invention will be the solution to the pollution problem. There are several models that Naomi Klein has put forward as viable solutio
...ns to the restoration of our climate. However, the model that intrigues me the most is the Atmospheric Commons Power of Paying debts.
Before the discovery of fossil fuels, civilizations depended on the whims of solar and hydro energy to survive. The discovery of coal pushed the concept of manufacturing and transport into a swing that resulted in the economic boom of early civilization. They made heavy use of coal and oil, and the net amount of pollution that resulted from this economic rise is enormous. The use of these resources can be directly linked to the exploitation of oil and other natural fuels. The atmosphere is considered a no man’s island. All countries have an equal right towards its exploitation.
When climate change bodies remove regulations and recommendations against the use of these fossil fuels, then it affects the developing countries.
The developed countries used the same fuels to propel them to their current state and are now against other nations that try the same. This argument is one among many that oil corporations pay to have strategists bring forth to protect their business interests.
Klein describes a region in Montana hills that have massive deposits of coal (397). This fossil fuel has immediate demand in China. The community that lives in the area is plagued by numerous problems including poverty, addiction and extremely high unemployment rates, 62%. Coal mining could resolve most of these problems that dogged the townspeople. However, this would be at the risk of contaminating their water supply. In the bigger picture, it would be an addition to the global amount of carbon emissions.
The Power of paying debts is a possible solution toward the resolution of this situation. Klien quotes Accion Ecologica, an association for climate, based in Ecuador that proposed that the international community should pay countries that decide not to use their natural fuel for the betterment of the global environment. This also comes with the realization that developed countries have resulted in 70% of the world’s pollution despite occupying only 20% of the world’s territory.
This payment should only be for rich countries to emerging countries but also from the rich individuals in a country to the poor of the same. This proposal comes with the aim of intervening in economic situations in countries like China. Despite being developed the economic disparities between the rich and the poor are enormous and the poor do not have the financial ability to utilize climate-friendly heating methods.
The global feed-in tariff proposes for a situation
in which the government pays back for the clean energy that is produced. This will create an incentive for a shift toward sustainable clean energy production globally. After doing extensive damage, developing nations are under the moral and arguably legal obligation to help developing countries to develop using clean energy. Klein, however, feels that the large pro-climate organizations are not keen to push such a proposal through because it would require high levels of international cooperation and regional solidarity that would possibly be difficult to muster.
This model is very effective, and it worked for the community in Montana. When Klein went back after one year, the change was remarkable. The community had been empowered to make use of solar energy and model houses that had insulation were constructed. She describes a community that was heavily involved in training and progressive activities. They no longer had to undergo huge costs in heating their houses, and therefore the costs of living went doing and people had learned courses that made them employable.
The country Denmark and its counterpart, Germany, are in the process of proving the viability of the method mentioned above. The Black Messa coalition was instrumental in the shutdown of mining sections. The coal produced generated electricity for heating and lighting. To ensure that the local communities have alternatives, the Black Messa organization, at least at the time of writing her book, is involved in the installation of vast solar arrays to harvest solar energy (398).
The forgone costs are real for the farmers in America (399). Family farms are facing heavy competition from agricultural companies that they usually lease part of their farms for fracking or
allowing petroleum pipes through their land. In Nebraska, farmers were able to build their barns that would provide them with energy in the locations that the pipeline was supposed to go through.
Communities do not willingly choose to implement dirty forms of fuel. It is usually because they either do not have knowledge of better means or they are not empowered enough to take the clean energy route. The small town of Greensburg had its structures largely destroyed by a tornado. The majority of residents of this city do not believe in the seriousness of climate change, however, during rebuilding, the town chose the most climate friendly route.
The advantage if the atmospheric commons power of paying debts is intricately entwined in the level of justice it dispenses. It has been based on three arguments.
The industrialized nations, many of whom are in the forefront of recognizing the need for reducing human impact and stemming climate change, are the largest contributors to greenhouse emissions globally. The use of the cheap fossil fuels accelerated the rate at which these countries developed. Coal is easily available and very inexpensive to procure. However, it usually has absorbed many chemicals, some of them toxic like mercury and these are released when it is burnt for energy.
Proposing that limits and quotas or complete shutdowns should be put in place for other countries that are late approaching their industrial growth is very unfair. These countries did not have such restrictions placed on them while they were developing and therefore when they are placed on other nations, they must be compensated.
This proposal calls for the use of clean alternative sources of energy and empowers communities
to be able to harness these sources such as the procurement of solar panels and the building of hydroelectric dams.
The proposal is very particular that the atmosphere does not belong to a single state. Every country has an equal right toward enjoying the atmosphere. This indicates that the protection of this asset should be participatory; all countries must be involved in the process. All countries, regardless of economic status have a role that they should play in cutting down climate change.
The debt payment proposal advocates for immediate action towards the minimizing of the pollution crisis. It suggests that an international body be quickly set up that will handle the reparations to developing countries so that they can explore avenues of clean energy. It also proposes for the sharing of skills and knowledge from the developed countries to the underdeveloped ones so as to expedite growth without the need for fossil fuels.
Climate has changed to extreme levels in some regions as the global surface temperature has risen by anywhere between 0.5 and 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit. The oceans have in turn risen to a height of between 3.9 inches and 10 inches. People living in river deltas are faced with frequent flooding, seasonal droughts, and the incidences of heat strokes are more prevalent than ever. The developed countries that set these events in motion should, at the very least, help the afflicted countries to cope better.
Following various global summits that discussed the issues of pollution on a worldwide basis, several resolutions were made, and attending countries purposed to follow them. One of the goals set by the Kyoto protocol was the reduction of emissions by 5% over
a period of years (219). However, according to data made available by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate change, the emissions have to be reduced by between 60%and 80% if comfortable concentrations of Carbon Dioxide are to be reached as the 21st century draws to a close.
In the policy in which countries pay for the emissions that they cause, a proposal brought forward by the US government, poor countries are greatly disadvantaged. The developed countries produce the largest number of pollutants, but they can easily pay the necessary fines to continue polluting the environment (219). Poor countries do not have the financial stamina to pay for these heavy fines and therefore cannot have access to this communal resource.
Polluter pay may make sense in some situations but when used alone, is simply implies that pollution is only allowed if a country can afford it (218).
The developing countries are against any proposition that requires them to bear the burden for the emissions that they caused during their rush towards industrialization. This is evident from their handling of the Kyoto protocol. They are slow to implement changes that will reduce greenhouse gasses emissions by meaningful numbers. However, they seem keen to push through on treaties that increase pressure for developing countries to follow strict emission targets.
The atmospheric commons model can be greatly improved if governments also play an aggressive role. In its current state, an entire country is given a quota, and this quota is then dependent on the number of firms within the country. The individual governments should not only give reward incentives for the companies that make use of alternative sources of energy, but it should also
impose restrictions of its own on its companies. Companies that overshoot their quotas should be liable to a fine that will be considerable enough to provide a strong enough incentive.The writer could not have used plainer language in this book; there is no time, we have to act now.
Reference
- Klein, Naomi. This changes everything: Capitalism vs. the climate. Simon and Schuster, 2015.
