In previous weeks I’ve discussed some of the reasons why we must take more individual responsibility in addressing climate change. But I am also painfully aware that there is only so much that we can do as individuals. Much more must be done by the world’s governments and their political leaders – and in particular one group of five countries I like to call Chimerzilia.
The name is an amalgam of the world’s biggest carbon emitters: China, America, Brazil, Indonesia and India. Together they are responsible for more than 50 per cent of global carbon emissions, either through industrialisation or deforestation. And without their agreement to do more – and I mean a whole lot more – to reduce their emissions, there will be little if any reduction in global warming.
The damage being caused either by or within these countries is staggering. In Brazil, tropical rainforest fires are started deliberately to clear illegal land for cattle grazing and agricultural use after the best trees have been logged. As a consequence of this activity, the Amazon rainforest is losing its ability to stay green year round as the combination of deforestation and drought makes it dangerously flammable. Scientists believe that as much as 50 per cent of the Amazon could someday go up in smoke if these land-clearing fires continue, due to the lowering of the Amazon’s humidity levels.
But while the smoke and smog that result from rainforests fires in Brazil and Indonesia cause breathing problems for locals, all of the world’s citizens will pay a price in the longer term. That’s because deforestation releases carbon stored in tropical peat and rainforests into the air while also reducing the earth’s ability to absorb existing levels of carbon in the atmosphere.
So the importance of Chimerzilia is clear: while China, America and India must agree to cut their share of carbon emissions, Brazil and Indonesia must also cut their own emissions by halting deforestation. Doing one or the other but not both is simply not an option if we want to avoid even more catastrophic consequences from climate change than those we are currently facing.
Without Chimerzilia, I see no hope for an effective global agreement to replace the largely ineffective Kyoto Protocol and address the causes of climate change.
I may be wrong, but I believe an effective post-Kyoto global climate change treaty will be one based on bilateral environmental agreements between and among the member states of Chimerzilia. While the consequent global treaty won’t be the kind of pact the world truly needs to stave off global warming, it may provide a framework for later negotiations that will lead to much more aggressive action.
This, incidentally, is my most optimistic scenario for how the world’s political leaders might actually begin to deal with the issue of climate change. Next time I will offer a much more realistic assessment…
Charles Laffiteau is a lifelong US Republican from Dallas, Texas who is currently pursuing a PhD in International Relations at DCU with a focus on environmental policy
