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Le Quotidien d’Oran, Algeria

Fiasco!: West Bets Climate Change Will Hurt Poor the Most

 

"The strategists of the multinationals consider that the bulk of future disasters will be concentrated in the developing world and that a few states would benefit from some level of global warming."

 

By K. Selim

 

Translated By Sandrine Ageorges

 

December 18, 2009

 

Algeria - Le Quotidien d’Oran - Original Article (French)

Without a last-minute miracle, the conference on global warming in Copenhagen will end in failure. The huge Western media machine, looking for a scapegoat, is trying without much conviction to designate the People's Republic of China as the country primarily responsible for this terrible result.

 

Given the nature of the commitments of wealthy nations most responsible for the accumulation of greenhouse gasses, China is effectively refusing to make any concessions without something serious in return. But there isn't a shadow of a doubt - and the gesticulations about “Africa” by such and such European head of state will change nothing - that those responsible for the Danish fiasco [the Copenhagen climate summit] are the Occidentals, with the United States leading the way. The historic polluters refuse to address the level of destruction they've inflicted and the challenges of climate change.

 

The deadlock was apparent from the opening of the conference about two weeks ago. Between a complete submission to the United States that was deplored by many Europeans and blatant diplomatic incompetence, the Danish presidency largely contributed to the deteriorating atmosphere of a meeting that once held out great promise. The Western strategy was to reduce the level of its own commitments and to write up a political statement of withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol.

 

Under pressure from the multinationals, for whom the West's men of power are merely authorized representatives, the terms of commitment meant to limit average global temperature rises to two degrees were greatly reduced and the potential for a legally binding agreement largely abandoned. This absurd and dangerous position is above all the responsibility of the United States. In line with the methods of his immediate predecessor, the Shakespearian character that leads American foreign policy announced without further explanation his country’s participation in a climate fund to help developing countries. The statement provoked a wave of rapturous praise from groupies, European heads of state and "big" media, undoubtedly to pave the way for President Obama’s statement at the plenary session.  

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:  

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

 

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Alas, the president delivered a speech without much substance, with analysts explaining that under the circumstances, he couldn't go any further without the approval of his Congress. If one must hope that the Congress of that country picks up the climate challenge, we may as well prepare for the worst … But the lesson is elsewhere: the king has been stripped of his clothes much more quickly than expected. Here we have brand new Nobel Peace Price winner, who, within a few days, brought his country's war efforts to a new high and contributed to a scuttling of a critical conference on the climate.

 

In this Danish affair, Westerners are playing a very risky game. The strategists of the multinationals consider that the bulk of future disasters will be concentrated in the developing world and that a few states would benefit from some level of global warming - which could considerably facilitate the exploitation of mineral resources at the poles [the Arctic and Antarctic]. By this yardstick, solidarity is an entirely secondary consideration. Cynicism and selfishness are the norm in international relations. But despite this, as this is a question of a common future, the sordid realism at work in Copenhagen is the mark of a terrifying irresponsibility.

 

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Posted by WORLDMEETS.US, Dec. 21, 7:05pm

 

 







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