Climate change: One step forwards, three steps back
by Lydia Brewer
The ‘leaders’ of the world met in Sydney for the much anticipated Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit earlier this month.
Along with other important global issues, sustainability and climate change was on the agenda.
So, with the amount of carbon emissions being produced by OECD countries making the planet warmer every year, the expectation would surely be on reigning in those countries who are not complying to the Kyoto Protocol of 1997.
With China, the United States and New Zealand having some of the highest carbon emissions per capita in the world, controls need to be tightened and governments need to start taking this issue seriously, right? Wrong.
Buckling under the pressure of the Chinese government, the APEC leaders decided to take one step forwards and three steps back.
Governments do not have to comply with the Kyoto Protocol, and will suffer no repercussions if their carbon emissions stay at an unsatisfactory level. They’d just really, really like them to try.
On top of this, New Zealand has been under pressure from other governments to adopt nuclear power, a controversial power source to say the least. While it provides less carbon emissions than fossil fuel, the nuclear waste created is virtually impossible to break down and safely absorb back into the environment. Not to mention the catastrophic effect if a nuclear meltdown was to occur.
So, with global warming once again going on the back burner, here are some undeniable facts:
- In 2004, studies proved that climate change was indeed warming waters in the northern hemisphere.
- In 2005, it was found that New Zealand’s carbon emissions were increasing at the second highest rate in the OECD from 1990 to 2000.
- In 2006, Climate Change Minister David Parker came under criticism from the Green Party for his slow progress in combating carbon emissions in New Zealand.
And now, amongst all this mess, Helen Clark has announced that New Zealand aims to be the first country in the world to become completely carbon neutral, starting with the government.
Can we really do it? Does New Zealand have the determination, leadership and resources to achieve what the rest of the world has failed to do?
The government’s first step to carbon neutrality and an environmental conscience was to build new government buildings out of sustainable materials. Unfortunately, they turned out to be sustainable Australian materials, and created a carbon footprint through their unnecessary travel to New Zealand. What a great start.
Being the first carbon neutral country in the world would be great for tourism, and would integrate nicely into our already undeserved “clean green” reputation. However, the chances of it actually eventuating, like many other political promises, are relatively slim.
If New Zealand continues to follow the world trend of abusing the planet and our natural resources then not only will we lose out on the publicity, we may also lose out on preserving the planet for the next generation.