Global climate change is a major
challenge of present era and the resultant climate policies have gained
unprecedented importance in recent
times. The impacts can be felt across
all aspects of the society and state.
Scientists in the west have done extensive research, contributed literature and formulated policies to address this biggest threat confronting
humanity. On the contrary, the nations of global south, though are hit
the hardest, but are still struggling
and comparatively less weightage
is given to climate policies among
these nations. As people gain awareness about environmental problems,
confront the effects in their daily
lives in the form of wildfires, floods,
heat waves and rising sea levels;
their future decisions are also guided based on these happenings. Recent political shift in United States
of America, Australia and Brazil is
an indication of this paradigm shift.
Climate change is now starting to affect politics and is becoming an issue which guides the public in deciding their leaders. Crafting a climate
strategy has become a significant element in election process.
Perhaps the Trump era can be
called a dark period in the US climate
change policy. It is during his presidency that the US withdrew from the
Paris agreement. donald Trump reverted Obama administrations directives aimed at mitigating climate
change and carbon dioxide emissions. Through multiple executive
orders, Trump allowed the sponsors
and expanded the oil and coal industry, slashed one-third of the existing
funding of the Environmental Protection Agency and even asked for a
revision of the Clean Power Strategy. We saw the public reaction in the
following Presidential elections. The
American public voted for the most
vocal propagator of environmental
protection and elected Joe Biden as
their new president. President Joe
Biden re-joined the Paris Agreement
on his first day in office and started
to make policy reforms to make USA
net zero in Green House Gas emissions by 2050. Scott Morrison, the
Australian Prime Minister in 2017,
held up a hunk of coal in the Parliament, and said, “don’t be scared.”
This was to signify the importance
that coal had in the Prime Minister’s
agenda. now, Australia is the world’s
biggest exporter of coal. If the coal
industry and extraction is blocked, it
can have consequences for the thousands of people associated with coal
related jobs. Yet, in the 2022 Federal Australian elections, the Australian public rejected Scott Morrison’s
anti-climate change rhetoric and voted for the Labour Party. Labour Party accomplished a majority government and this was after 15 years,
since 2007. The newly elected Australian Prime Minister Mr Anthony
Albanese has promised a “new era”
of climate action and energy innovation. The Prime Minister has pledged
to introduce new climate legislation,
including a target of net zero emissions. This result marks a strong shift
in the public sentiment, as the people chose the environment over the
country’s fossil fuel policy.
World’s largest Amazon Forest is
in Brazil. Amazon forests act as the
lungs of the world and sink large proportions of carbon dioxide. However, they also provide livelihood to the
inhabitants, wherein timbering is a
major source, areas are cultivated
and brought under settlements. Historically, Brazil has faced a dilemma
of going for the greater good of the
world by following the climate protocols or choosing to allow its people to
make a living from timbering. Hence,
the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
saw the environmental regulation as
a hindrance to the economic growth
of the nation and chose to undermine climate change protocols. However, the recent elections in October
2022 have shown that the people of
Brazil do not agree with Jair Bolsonaro as they voted for the left winged
Worker’s Party and elected Luiz Lula
da Silva as their new president. In his
victory speech, Lula said, “Brazil is
ready to retake its leadership in the
fight against the climate crisis, Brazil
and the planet need a living Amazon.”
The President also pledged to clamp
down on illegal logging, mining and
land grabbing that have driven the
surging deforestation of the Amazon
over the past years.
In Europe, we see Germany in lead
for renewable and clean energy. In
the neighbouring France, lawmakers
have recently backed wide ranging
bill that ensures a plan to enshrine
environmental protection in the constitution. Human development Index
added two new factors, carbon dioxide emission and material footprint
which have an enormous strain on
the planet. Lately, more than 11,000
scientists signed an open letter calling for a “shift from GdP growth” towards “sustaining eco systems and
improving human well-being.”
Thus, in the last three decades
there has been a conceptual shift in
the world. The world has gradually shifted from geo-politics, geo-economic and geo-technology to the latest geo-environment. Clausewitz’s
trinity based on government, people and army was later extended to
a square with addition of economics and technology. Moving forward
it transformed into a pentagon with
the addition of media and its forms
of print, electronic and social media.
now the pentagon has become a hexagon with the latest addition of environment and its derivatives of land,
air and water. Unfortunately, we the
humans have been conditioned not
to pre-emptily act to environmental
issues. We are faithed on the dogmas
of an unquestionable faith in the capacity and capability of technology
and money to tame nature. Resultantly, the environmental policies are
not properly and timely incorporated in the policy, planning and development strategies. Climate change
polices are not a quick fix and take
years to yield effects. However, in today’s globalised village where people are informed and aware, it is an
established fact that environment
plays a pivotal role for us and more
importantly for the next generation
environment is where we all meet;
where we all have a mutual interest;
it’s one thing all of us share. It is the
need of hour to have climate leaders
as global leaders. We need statesman
to look beyond the myopic political
interests to steer the world to a desired Global Green Regime. This is for
the sake of our next generation.