Terrible mess
In a global industrial capitalist economy, the world’s political leaders’ first duty is to protect the interests of the capitalists, especially their system of profit accumulation, which requires constant expansion. If they didn’t perform this duty, they wouldn’t be permitted to lead. They are not going to make the changes necessary to save the planet from global industrial capitalism. It’s not possible. They can’t and they won’t.
Excerpt from an article issued by Reuters:
World Leaders Back Delay to Final Climate Deal
by Caren Bohan
…
“There was an assessment by the leaders that it was unrealistic to expect a full, internationally legally binding agreement to be negotiated between now and when Copenhagen starts in 22 days,” senior U.S. negotiator Michael Froman told reporters after the meeting, which was attended by leaders of the United States, China, Japan, Russia, Mexico, Australia and Indonesia.
“We believe it is better to have something good than to have nothing at all,” Chilean Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez said.
Copenhagen was seen as the last chance for countries to agree on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol and put in place painful measures needed to fight a rise in temperatures that would bring more rising sea levels, floods and droughts.
The aim of the summit is to set ambitious targets for cutting greenhouse gases, but also to raise funds to help poor countries tackle global warming.
However, negotiations have been bogged down, with developing nations accusing the rich world of failing to set themselves deep enough 2020 goals for curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
…
Of course negotiations have bogged down. Of course. No meaningful change will come from these people. The only way to save the planet is to overthrow and dismantle industrial capitalism.
The whole article is here: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/11/15-0
The question is, what are the interests of the capitalists that the leaders must protect? In the long term, having a consumer base that is not distracted by the consequences of global warming seems like a plus, so maybe dealing with GW is one of the interests of the capitalists. In that case, it’s just a matter of overcoming short-sighted stupidity. That shouldn’t be too hard.