11/30/2007
Global Rethink
Emissions disputes symptom of eco-nationalism
Do carbon emissions that are causing climate change and threatening the survival of Planet Earth have distinct and different nationalities? Are they — or should they be — American carbons, Chinese carbons, Indian carbons, etc? Or should carbons — like trade and information — have an increasingly globalised identity? In many forms the 19th century concept of nation states has become obsolete. The transformation wrought by changes in perception of and attitude towards various issues — such as trade, business process outsourcing, employment opportunity, information flow, communication and entertainment — has blurred geographical, cultural and political boundaries, greatly enhancing their reach for common benefit. However, the last bastion of diehard nationalism, the environment, exists as an antithesis of its own nature. The environment ought to be the fundamental, universal premise for any kind of global thinking. Strangely, though, the very environment that makes possible globalised progress on all fronts is burdened with the tyranny of nationalism.
The UNDP’s Human Development Report released on Tuesday, whose contents were reportedly “trashed” by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, focuses on the impact of climate change on development indices. The report says that the effects of climate change would, for the first time, erase benefits of development achieved in previous years. The other point made is that whether a particular country — anywhere on the globe — takes action or not to curb emissions, the impact would be more pronounced in developing countries of Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands.
India takes great pride in its traditional proclivity for nurturing a universal consciousness. Its leaders have made a habit of quoting from the scriptures to proclaim how the world is one big family — Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. India’s decisionmakers shouldn’t let themselves fall into the very same trap that the developed world is trying to get out of. It is clear that carbon footprints are to be taken seriously. Since emissions do not stay put within national boundaries and since anyway, India would be among the worst hit if global warming continues unabated, eco-nationalism would only drag us deeper into the morass. But then, this is not a problem that can be solved by India, or the developed world alone.
There has to be more thought on what would constitute universal criteria for emissions reduction, which would be fair, equitable and acceptable to all nations. First, we need to clear the decks at the conceptual level. It’s not an either/or choice between clean air and economic growth. Policy needs to factor in both issues.
13:40 Posted in Earth Talk | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
11/29/2007
Replacing red in Xmas with coat of green
The Ecological Evangelist Of The Family Targets Christmas To Stop Wasteful Materialism.
Last Christmas, Donna Hoffman, an ardent environmentalist who lives in Austin, Texas, came up with an unlikely gift for each member of her family: an energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulb.
“I wanted to connect through the gift-giving tradition,” said Hoffman, 45, who works as a coordinator for the Sierra Club. “I also wanted to communicate my own deeply-felt environmental conviction.”
In particular, Hoffman said, she hoped to make a point to her sister, Cynda Reznicek, who works for a construction company that builds “a lot of nasty, old-style fossil fuel-related stuff ”, including highways and coalfired electricity plants.
While Reznicek, 50, found the light bulb an amusing gift, and even useful (she has since replaced all the incandescent bulbs in her house), she said she wondered if the holidays were the time to preach austerity. “We spent so many years so poor, where we didn’t have the money to do much,” Reznicek said. Now that she and her husband, Steve, a lawyer, are doing better financially, “we’re at the point now where we can be a little more extravagant,” she said. “It’s just a joy.” Cut back now? With all due respect to her sister, Reznicek said, “We thought she was nuts.”
Frivolity versus severity. Materialism versus sacrifice. Welcome to the “green” holidays. The holidays have always been an emotionally combustible time for families, bringing together a sometimes volatile mix of siblings, crotchety grandparents and ill-behaved children. But in recent years, a new figure has joined the celebration, to complicate the proceedings even further: the green evangelist of the family — the impassioned activist bent on eradicating the wasteful materialism of the holidays.
Otherwise known, at least to skeptical traditionalists, as the new Grinch.
This Grinch, however, is not out to spoil Christmas, but merely to use it as a platform to advocate ecological responsibility. Perhaps emboldened by the “Live Earth” benefit concerts and Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize, this is the family member who is the first to point out, over the bountiful Christmas dinner, that the 2.6 billion holiday cards sold each year in the United States could fill a landfill the size of a football field 10 stories high, or that those conventional lights on the Christmas tree contribute up to nine times as much greenhouse-gas emissions as the leaner-burning LED models; or that some Christmas-tree growers use as many as 40 different pesticides, as well as chemical colorants, on their crops.
The question that an increasing number of families face is whether the proselytizing green member of the clan adds spice to the proceeding, like, say, a cup of whiskey in a bowl of eggnog, or an explosive element, like that same cup of whiskey tossed into the fire on Christmas morning.
It’s not just the greens who feel this emotional tug at the end of the year: A 2005 survey by the Center for a New American Dream showed that 78% of Americans wish the holidays were “less materialistic.” At the same time, the average American spends about $900 on presents each year, according to the National Retail Federation. Still, to some ears, the call for less excessive consumption during the holidays sounds almost un-American.
13:30 Posted in Environment | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
11/28/2007
Solvent Green
Vedanta ruling should encourage eco-friendly business
The recent Indian Supreme Court ruling that restrains UK-based Vedanta Resources from going ahead with its bauxite-mining project in Orissa underscores the merits of globalisation. Two weeks after Norway’s state pension fund pulled out $13 million from Vedanta citing environmental reasons, the apex court said that Vedanta’s Indian arm, Sterlite, would have to set aside about $180 million for forest regeneration and tribal development in Orissa if it is to go ahead with the project. The verdict marks a first in many respects.
An important lesson to be drawn from it is that it pays to go green in a globalised world. Environment is not merely the concern of naysayers. Shareholders and consumers take decisions based on environmental factors, which can have a global impact. Only a few months ago, Canadian aluminium major Alcan withdrew from a bauxite-mining project involving an Indian partner after its shareholders were persuaded that the joint venture did not comply with environmental norms. The World Bank is chary of projects that have uncertain environmental implications. A number of companies have figured out that being environmentally and socially conscious can work wonders for their brand image, particularly in the West, where consumer decisions are hugely influenced by such factors. Oil companies are forced by such pressure to set aside funds not only for greening the earth but also for finding ways to curb carbon emissions.
Vedanta is perhaps the only ‘globalised’ verdict to have come out of the Indian legal system. The apex court was forced to take cognisance of the Norwegian government’s observations and issue directives to the Indian arm of the UK-based company. In an age of free exchange of goods and ideas, this does not come as a surprise. Just as companies based in the developed world earn consumer goodwill through acts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in poorer regions, they stand to pay a price for neglecting social objectives. Whether one likes it or not, civil society groups and the media will play a greater role in shaping decisions of those in the government, judiciary and corporate world than ever before.
Globalisation has done wonders for India Inc. If firms like Infosys are central to creating a new brand image of India, it is not only for the quality of their products but also for their corporate governance practices and record on CSR. The wider the perspective, the better the bottom line.
13:25 Posted in Environment | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this