[International Herald Tribune, France]
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for More Cartoons]
China Daily, People's
Republic of China
American Media
Fiddles as Earth's Climate Burns
"Media
in the U.S. rarely mention the climate talks. The focus here has been on the
Republican presidential debates, the withdrawal of Herman Cain after
allegations of sexual impropriety, and an upcoming debate to be moderated by
billionaire Donald Trump … It seems that all of these are more important than
climate change, which is a threat to the world's future."
By Chen Weihua*
December 9, 2011
People's Republic of China - China Daily -
Original Article (Chinese)
After two weeks of heated
debate, mass demonstrations and intense lobbying, the United Nations Climate
Change Conference will close on Friday in Durban, South Africa. But reaching a
binding deal on carbon emissions, which hit a historic high last year, seems a
mission impossible.
That should come as no great
surprise, as top world leaders didn't bother to attend the event, known as
COP-17, or even offer any pledges of support.
If you live in the United
States as I do these days, you may not even know there has been such a meeting.
Media rarely mention it. Major newspapers have more or less left it to the
blogosphere. Watching CNN America every day over the past two weeks, I
haven't seen a single report on COP-17.
Instead, the focus here has
been on the Republican presidential debates, the withdrawal of Herman Cain after
allegations of sexual impropriety, an upcoming debate to be moderated by
billionaire Donald Trump, a fresh charge against Penn State assistant football
coach Jerry Sandusky, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich being sentenced
to 14 years in prison, and the federal government's refusal to allow young
teenage girls to buy the morning-after pill without a prescription.
It seems that all of these are
more important than climate change, which is a threat to the world's future. And
that despite last week's warning by Fatih Birol, chief economist of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), that the world is on a track for a
temperature rise of 6 degrees instead of the targeted 2 degrees.
And Birol's words aren't the
only ones being largely ignored by the American news media. Fifteen U.S.
senators wrote Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to call for an ambitious
agreement at the Durban climate talks.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Russia:
Dark Clouds for Kyoto and Future Cuts in Emissions
Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria:
Fiasco!: West Bets Climate Will Hurt Poor Most
Luxemburger Wort, Luxembourg:
Making U.S. Senate a Climate Offer it Can't Refuse
El Watan, Algeria:
The 'Madness'
of Copenhagen
El Watan, Algeria:
The 'Madness'
of Copenhagen
Liberation, France:
Global Cooperation -
Gone Like a 'Mirage'
Le Monde, France:
Copenhagen Climate Talks - 'Failure and Disappointment'
Le Figaro, France:
The Climate and the Challenge of Governing a Planet
Der Spiegel, Germany:
Gunning Full Throttle
Into the Greenhouse
Estadao, Brazil:
The Rich Show Their Hand at Copenhagen
Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Russia:
Gorbachev Presses World Leaders to Deliver on Climate
Kurier, Austria :
Potentially Negligent
Mass Murder: Climate
Change Must Be Faced
Guardian Unlimited:
Climate Summit in 'Disarray'
After Leak of 'Danish Text'
Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany:
'Grotesque Behavior' of Climate Powers
Financial Times Deutschland, Germany:
Beijing Instead of Copenhagen
Hurriyet, Turkey:
History's Judgment of
Our Generation Depends
on Climate Summit
Rossijskaya Gazeta, Russia:
Gorbachev: Dialogue Only Way to Resolve Korea Crisis
[Arab News, Saudi
Arabia]
[Click Here
for More Cartoons]
As chief U.S. climate change
negotiator Todd Stern
wanders around in Durban questioning the sincerity of China and other
developing countries, he is unlikely to admit that the United States is utterly
incapable of taking the lead in the global climate change battle. It is likely
that even President Barack Obama, who vowed last month in Australia that the U.S.
should lead in this regard, knew his words were hollow.
The U.S. was the only major
developed country that rejected Kyoto and any climate change bill when it came
to restricting emissions, which is why the Kyoto restrictions are unlikely to
survive fierce Republican opposition. And Washington has also been reluctant to
join other wealthy nations to create a multibillion-dollar fund to provide
technical support to poor nations struggling with climate change.
No wonder 16 major American
environmental groups wrote to Hillary Clinton, pointing out that the United
States risks being seen a major obstacle rather than a global leader on climate
change.
"U.S. positions on two
major issues - the mandate for future negotiations and climate finance -
threaten to impede global cooperation so desperately needed in Durban to
address the threat of climate change," they wrote.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
But while the U.S. is
increasingly an obstacle, China is moving in the right direction by showing
more flexibility in talks and more resolve in its plans and actions.
As Fatih Birol of the IEA
pointed out, the resources of four planets like the Earth would be needed for
the entire world to adopt the American way of life. China should take quicker
and stronger action to switch to a sustainable path. That long-term vision
shouldn't be clouded by short-term challenges of boosting the economy and
consumption.
*Chen Weihua is deputy
editor of the China Daily's U.S. edition.
E-mail: chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn
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