Home ›› 26 Sep 2021 ›› Editorial
Economists strive for rapid growth so that the living standards of the majority of people could be scaled up to a decent level. The idea on the limits to growth nurtured and nourished by a group of thirty individuals from ten countries holds an opposite view that growth should be calculative and also focus on certain parameters on sustainability. The group subsequently known as the Club of Rome stitched the varied but interdependent components of development panorama such as economic, political, natural and social in an ingot to stress certain policy initiatives and action. “Their overriding conviction that the major problems facing mankind are of such complexity and are so interrelated that traditional institutions and policies are no longer able to cope with them, nor even to come to grips with their full content.” Ultimately through several meetings, the Project on the Predicament of Mankind galvanised to address a complex of problems that could have a devastating impact on human existence. Among them five offshoots figure prominently in our today's world causing cataclysmic disaster in the world irrespective of developed and developing world. The elements are poverty in the midst of plenty, degradation of the environment, uncontrolled urban spread, loss of faith in institutions and rejection of traditional values. The idea known as problematique was beyond comprehension to many world leaders during the last fifty years despite their considerable knowledge and skills in political and economic facets. It is true that without appreciation of the origins, significance and interrelationships of its components in problematique it is difficult to devise effective responses and a piecemeal solution cannot be an effective way to contain or tame a wholesale problem.
The book; The Limits to Growth with 221 pages published by Universe Books, New York [with 48 figures, 6 tables with five chapters] dovetails all the nitty gritty of many crucial issues on environment, population growth, carbon emission and non-renewable natural resources with predication that tantamount to divine guidance. There are also references to micro issues with profound impact such as the lead in Greenland Ice Cap, waste heat generation in the Los Angeles basin and changes in chemical characteristics and commercial fish production in Lake Ontario. The blatant truth is that we ignored this divine guidance and as a consequence of our negligence we are now experiencing devastating consequences of volcanic eruption, La Palma, Spain and in Reykjavik, Iceland, flood in West Germany and wildfire in California, Texas, Turkey and Greece. The global temperature would rise 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century even if all countries are strict to their promised emissions cuts. This level of warming is likely to increase the frequency of deadly heat waves and threaten coastal cities with rising sea levels exacerbating extreme wildfires, droughts and floods. The state of Louisiana battered by Hurricane Ida could not yet recover and the flash flood in the aftermath with several deaths in New York and New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut is alive in our memory.
This short article cannot accommodate the other perils and predicament of this uneven, distorted and merciless growth encapsulated in the inequality, environmental degradation and bereft in human values. An obvious example is the perilous trek of people from South America and Haitian to be on the border of Mexico, United States.
The 76th United Nations General Assembly Session addresses many of these issues with urgency where world leaders are now voicing the climate issue in a befitting manner as echoed by the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, “the world is on a catastrophic pathway.” The wide gap between the imperatives or expectations and the achievements dictates that by 2030 emission of planet-warming gases need to decrease at least by a quarter from the current level of 16 percent during this decade 2010 to avert the worst impacts of global warming. World leaders from major developed world from Great Britain, Germany and United States eloquently expressed their concern with the devastating consequence of warming, indeed the election campaign on the Germany’s Chancellor after sixteen years of Angela Markel is on the altar on climate change issue as the flood in West Germany was dubbed as biblical floods in CNN version. President Biden called for “relentless diplomacy” and commitment of $ 11.4 billion to developing nations to address climate change by 2024 and the assurance of President Xi Jinping on no carbon based power plant project manifest commitment to the concern of world top leaders on climate issues, "China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad," Even the move could limit the expansion of coal plants in many developing countries under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Climate change figured as the most vital issue at this year’s General Assembly meeting and Secretary General, António Guterres' conviction on our existential struggle echoed unpardonable lapses on the prophecy of Club of Rome during this fifty years. Indeed, what we observe now is a gap between commitment and action on the part of the developed world, e.g., the default of about $ 20 billion aid package of $ 100 billion a year in aid to developing countries under the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Accord. About 200 countries have made pledges to reduce or slow down emissions of planet-warming gases under the Paris agreement. Yet new pledges are missing from countries, including China, India and Saudi Arabia.
A failure to commitment “Could jeopardize cooperation to rein in global greenhouse emissions and avert the worst effects of warming. “This is a crucial question of trust,” António Guterres' asserted at a climate summit organized by the White House last week. Joe Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord was a severe blow and the reinstatement embedded in the flurry of first- day action manifested the trust again.“Rejoining Paris is just the first step, but it’s a big first step.” The quote from U Thant Secretary General in 1969 is appropriate to remember our past mistakes and what should be honest commitment in climate change, “If such a global partnership is not forged within the next decade, then I very much fear that the problem I have mentioned will have reached such staggering proportions that they will be beyond our capacity to control.”
The writer is the Treasurer and a Professor, School of Business and Economics, United International University
