| Positive Environmentalism |
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| Written by Alex Singleton | |
| Tuesday, 16 January 2007 | |
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A new report by the the Globalisation Institute challenges the conventional wisdom on how to solve climate change - on the same day as two of David Cameron's policy commissions meet to discuss how environment and development fit together. Positive Environmentalism: A Convenient Truth says that while many proposed solutions to climate change have the right intentions, they will ultimately fail to protect the planet. These "big government" solutions, including green taxes, food mile reductions, and emissions trading may make policymakers feel they are doing the right thing, but, the report says: "the road to hell is paved in good intentions". The debate about climate change solutions has been hijacked by "negative environmentalism", the view that thinks that improving the environment has to be done through big government plans to restrict foreign holidays, limit trade, force local shopping, or curb GDP. It regards the rise of India and China with dread. Economic growth is seen as finite: the West, in this view, has become rich at the expense of the planet, and there are not enough resources to sustain increasing economic prosperity in the emerging economies. Instead, the report says, policymakers need to adopt "positive environmentalism". This view recognises the importance of dealing with environmental problems but rejects the doom and gloom approach so commonly encountered. It sees the great environmental achievements over the past century and rejects the notion that there are long term limits to economic prosperity. It sees the importance of technology, innovation and economic growth in tackling climate change. According to the report, there is a convenient truth about growth and the environment: "becoming wealthier and more prosperous in the coming century is not the enemy of environmental progress: it is its very heart and soul." It says that: "Instead of a fear of economic growth, policymakers should see it as a force for good. Within decades, technological progress, funded by growth, will break the relationship between GDP and carbon emissions. An approach to climate change that emphasises technological progress hand in hand with growth offers the best way to tackle the issue of the developing economies. Our approach to India and China must be more savvy than trying to beat them into an international agreement that is not in their interests.” |
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