Enironmental Challenges

Within decades, technological progress, funded by growth, will break the relationship between GDP and carbon emissions. Our approach to India and China, and other emerging economies, must be more savvy than trying to beat them into an international agreement that is not in their interests. Government should create prize funds to support the development of new green technologies and tariffs on green technologies should be scrapped.

The importance of dealing with environmental issues is widely recognized and the importance to not take a negative view in order to deal positively with both environment and economic growth. The positive trends over the past century has been recognized. People no longer worry about the Ozone Layer or acid rain or the cleanliness of Britain’s rivers. Londoners don’t complain about smog; indeed, air quality in London is the cleanest since records began in 1581. These have been achieved not by curbing living standards but hand in hand with rising affluence. All the evidence shows that after the early stages of development, environmental trends improve because people are wealthy enough to pay for the improvements. Instead of a fear of economic growth, policymakers should see it as a force for good. Within decades, technological progress, funded by growth, will break the relationship between GDP and carbon emissions.

Moreover, an approach to climate change that emphasises technological progress hand in hand with growth offers the best way to tackle the issue of the developing economies. Our approach to India and China, and other emerging economies, must be more savvy than trying to beat them into an international agreement that is not in their interests. The British public has made clear that the needs of the world’s poorest must be taken into account.

The principles upon which science is built are doubt and constant inquiry. In the
20th century, this view of science was most clearly expressed by the philosopher Sir Karl
Popper, who once put the issue thus: “Whenever a theory appears to you as the only possible one, take this as a sign that you have neither understood the theory nor the problem which it was intended to solve”. To Popper science was an ever evolving process of discovery and refinement.

Kyoto was the ‘signal that governments and industry have been waiting for. There is now a price on climate pollution and penalties for polluters. The switch to a low carbon economy begins here.

However, it proved to be disappointing, even with extra measures, Spain is projected to exceed its 1990 emissions by 51.3% in 2010, compared with an allowed increase under Kyoto of 15%. Ireland is projected to reach 30% above 1990 levels by 2010, against an allowance of 13%, and Portugal 42.7% higher, with an allowance of 27%.3 In fact, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) the UK is almost alone in Europe in honouring Kyoto pledges to cut greenhouse gases, accompanied only by Sweden. We have only been able to meet our targets due to the replacement of coal-fired power stations by cleaner gas ones. This shift was a natural and market-led one – the energy industry did it simply to cut cost.

In the cases of India and China, both of whom have ratified the protocol, neither are required to reduce carbon emissions under the present agreement because they are classified as non-annex 1 developing countries. However, China and India will soon be the top contributors to greenhouse gases. Also, there is evidence that without Kyoto restrictions on these countries, industries in developed countries will be driven towards their non-restricted economies, resulting in no net reduction in carbon emissions.

Yet how can the international community hope to convince these countries to commit to agreements that will radically retard their economic growth? Indeed, would it even be morally right for developed countries to ask this of China or India, when the resultant decline in economic growth would condemn millions of their population to further years of ongoing poverty and deprivation? On the face of it Kyoto can be painted as a success. As of October 2006, a total of 166 countries and other governmental entities have ratified the agreement, representing over 61.6% of emissions from Annex I countries.7 Yet as we have seen, most of these countries do not stand to meet their targets. Moreover, even if Kyoto were succesful, its environmental benefits would be marginal.

The science surrounding climate change remains uncertain, and such forecasts are difficult to make with any degree of accuracy. Nevertheless, it is clear that international agreements are not the solution we seek. They are both unworkable and, realistically, inadequete. A new approach must be found. Historically, innovation has been our saviour but today there is a widespread notion, felt rather than understood, that technological solutions can only ever lead to greater problems. This is an unfortunate misunderstanding. Technology, in essence, is simply applied problem solving and such pessimistic objections must, in all fairness, apply equally to political, social and economic solutions as well.

Source:
Edited by Tom Clougherty, positive Environmentalism
Selling Hot Air, The Economist, Sep. 7th 2006
http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_SRVPDNN>
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/contentlookup.cfm?CFID=6263881&CFTOKEN=78823873&ucidparam=20051
212090405> [Last accessed 23/11/06].
http://www.nationalcenter.org/KyotoSenate.html> [Last accessed 23/11/06].


Subject: Creating Smart Hubs in Rural Post Offices(agriculture+intenet+environment+post offices)





Dear Gareth,



I was wondering whether this idea is feasible to include in FP7 ITN research programme or Remediation land contamination initiatives.



Creating SMART HUBS by bringing together different players for the purpose of sustainable growth of local economies and attracting city dwellers to invest in environment. There is a potential for development by combining the use of post offices in rural areas and turning them into satellite internet hubs+ smart agriculture centers + environmental monitoring focal points. This is a functional idea to make use of our assets (not to close down post offices in rural areas), use of integrated communication facility and data collection (internet hubs), sustainable economic growth through improving smarter local farming and yields (smart agriculture), waste management and environmental policy making (focal points).


Research proposal

Environmental democracy, the core subject of my studies builds on our identities in relation with other diverse bodies in the nature. Environmental crisis is above all a problem of knowledge that enriches our democratic approach. It leads to rethinking identities in search of connecting, managing and improving complex relation with the environment.

One dimension that has been much neglected in the past emanates from the impression as if environmental resources are costless and infinite therefore prone to over exploitation. Environmental rationality seeks to reestablish the links between knowing, certainties, and purpose of our surroundings and the way we get on with them.

There is more to environment that it has been previously assumed. The environment dominates and controls the evolution of life forms through process of interactions which carries vital values. The environment power dominates that of heredity constitution. Given the environment, the organism only makes of itself what in reality it receives.

We are defining new roles, concepts, values and spaces. Consequences of ignoring environmental signals and delaying environmental democracy have proved to be much greater than expected. For example global warming and water scarcity has become the major motivating factor for countries in central Asia to escalate into conflicts over access to water. Studies found that we survive today as a result of borrowing from the future.

Pressing environment rationality implies the reconstitution of identities beyond instrumental modern thinking, calculating and planning. The solution to the global environmental crisis is based upon revising mind sets, perceptions and values that brings along institutional changes.

Environmental democracy modifies the logic of the scientific control of the world, of the technological domination of nature, of the rational administration of the environment. And in so doing develops culture of adaptation to the nature. Over reliance on science that assisted to liberate man from underdevelopment and oppression has generated one dimensional alienated society. We ought to return to the nature and cherish it’s values in a sustainable manner.

My studies are focused on environment as an ‘identity issue’ that revolves around environmental democracy particularly access to water and its state of affairs for which I need to study variety of reliable information enabling me to compare behaviour, decision making and examine barriers and risks involved in different social contexts in our democratic response to global warming, over population and resource depletion.

Key words: Environment, democracy, identity, values, resource depletion