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Tuesday, June 08, 2021

"Too little, too late,"



 New data shows atmospheric carbon dioxide reached a monthly average level of 419 parts per million in May, which is not only the maximum reading ever recorded since accurate measurements began 63 years ago but also the highest level the planet has experienced in over four million years. Scientists noted that while the worldwide economic slowdown during the coronavirus pandemic led to a significant but temporary decrease in global greenhouse gas emissions, the drop had no discernible impact on the rate of atmospheric CO2 accumulation.

 A research report (pdf) by Zurich-based Swiss RE, Oxfam International warns that the looming devastation of runaway greenhouse gas emissions and the climate crisis could result in economic retractions twice as potent as the global recession unleashed by  Covid-19—a calamity, unlike the pandemic, which could go on for many years without end. Oxfam International said while the world's poorest nations will be the hardest hit, even the rich nations will not be spared from the economic pain that will come if world temperatures rise by 2.6ºC that some scenarios predict.

Economies of the G7 nations could see an average loss of 8.5 percent annually by the middle of the century―equivalent to $4.8 trillion―if more urgent action to address global warming is not taken immediately. This potential drop in GDP is double that of the coronavirus pandemic, which resulted in an average 4.2% reduction among G7 nations, recessions that resulted "in staggering job losses and some of the largest economic stimulus packages ever seen." But, Oxfam added, "economies are expected to bounce back from the short-term effects of the pandemic, the effects of climate change will be seen every year."

  • India could lose 27% of its economy.
  • Australia, South Africa and South Korea are projected to lose 12.5, 17.8 and 9.7% respectively.
  • The Philippines is projected to lose 35%
  • Colombia is projected to lose 16.7%

Amnesty International decried the inadequacy of wealthy nations' climate action plans as a colossal human rights failure and delivered a blueprint for policymakers to urgently change course to avert "impending catastrophe" and uphold their international obligations.

Stop Burning Our Rights (pdf), a new policy brief  from the organization calls the climate emergency "a human rights crisis of unprecedented proportions" and "manifestation of deep-rooted injustices."

"The unambitious climate plans submitted by G7 members represent a violation of the human rights of billions of people. These are not administrative failures, they are a devastating, mass-scale assault on human rights," said Chiara Liguori, Amnesty International's Human Rights and Environment policy advisor.

Failure to take necessary steps to rein in the global crisis and mitigate its harms amounts to "a human rights violation" and should be condemned as with other human rights violations, according to the group. Such violations, the report argues, "condemn millions of people to premature death, hunger, diseases, displacement, not just in the future but also at present. They contribute to conflicts and to the unfolding cycle of human rights violations. They perpetuate and accelerate current inequalities and discrimination against those who are already being oppressed by systemic injustices. Failure to adequately tackle the climate crisis is a form of discrimination."

Green capitalists look upon the market as the only way to modify human behaviour. The reality is that the capitalist market has always been very highly manipulated. The most powerful and the largest corporations and financial institutions, hold all the influence. The idea to use the mechanisms of the market is an approach that’s failed everywhere it’s been tried regards climate policy. It has created loopholes and has made it possible for the corporations to camouflage business-as-usual, while putting up a fake facade of responsibility. Capitalism knows how to produce but will not produce without criminal waste and destruction

Mankind must live in harmony with our given environment, cherish and protect it as a trust for future generations. In the words of Marx:

"Even an entire society, a nation, or all simultaneously existing societies taken together are not owners of the earth. They are simply its possessors, its beneficiaries, and have to bequeath it in an improved state to succeeding generations as boni patres familias [good heads of the household]."

The purity of air, water, soil, are vital to us all. Loving care must take the place of the befoulment and destruction of the environment.  Capitalism is responsible for the malicious destruction of the environment. It plunders the resources of the planet. The profit motive is incompatible with safeguarding the world’s resources. So long as it is profitable, environmental destruction is perfectly ’logical’ under capitalism. Humanity’s problem is not limited to resources but the wanton waste of resources which is an essential part of the process of capital accumulation.

The environmentalist movement has been invaluable in highlighting and researching many of these specific problems. However, this movement is, nevertheless, diverse with Green Parties working within the confines of capitalism. integrated into the political system, but there are many other groups that rely on their own strengths, local and international mass actions, advancing the view that sustainable life systems living in harmony with nature are a real alternative to the exploitative system. This trend is a positive trend if not yet a perfect one. Socialism will provide the opportunity for a society planned for the majority rather than for profit.



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