A realistic and feasible way to settle the disputes over the
issue of climate change is to work out "developing phases" for
developing countries in their effort to achieve modernization, a
climate change expert told Xinhua recently.
"It is unrealistic to ask developing countries, including China
and India, to meet the standards and norms for developed
countries," said Huang Jing, former senior researcher at the
Brookings Institution, a leading think tank in the United
States.
Huang, who has closely followed the climate change row between
the developed and developing countries, said the "developing
phases" initiative envisages clearly defined standards in each
developing phase that must be met.
As the country is developing, the standards should also change,
he said.
"While the developing countries are committed to meet the
standards in each 'phase', the developed countries are obliged to
provide necessary technical and economic support to them," he
said.
Economic development and modernization are the basic and
universal rights for all peoples in the world, and the only way to
achieve modernization is through industrialization during which
massive increases in energy consumption and pollution are
inevitable, said Huang.
The developed countries have the moral obligation to help
developing countries overcome the unavoidable dilemma in their
efforts to achieve modernization via industrialization, Huang
said.
"Political leaders and people in the developed societies should
realize that they are not only helping the developing countries but
essentially themselves as well," he said.
"Should the developing countries fail to handle their energy and
environment issues in the process of industrialization, there would
be a disaster for the entire world," Huang added.
Huang also called for serious efforts from the developing
countries to improve energy efficiency, curb pollution and protect
the environment. Being "developing" cannot be an excuse for
overlooking energy and environment issues, he said.
The senior researcher said communication, coordination and
cooperation, which he defined as 3Cs, were the only way to success,
while confrontation and isolation would surely spell failure.
"With the 3Cs principle, members of the world community have to
first concentrate on working out globally acceptable treaties and
agreements, with concrete measures, standards and mechanism, that
have to be followed by all countries," he said.
On Tuesday, representatives from 17 of the world's major
economies and biggest emitters of greenhouse gases gathered in
Honolulu, Hawaii, to discuss ways to tackle climate change in the
coming decades.
The idea of bringing the world's major economies for climate
change talks was initiated by President George W. Bush in May
2007,when the United States was under growing pressure to
contribute more to solving the issue of greenhouse gas
emissions.
"The increasingly 'active' involvement of the United States in
the global effort to secure energy supply and improve the
environment revealed a positive signal," said Huang.
The move of the Bush administration showed that the energy and
environmental issues have drawn serious attention from the US
policy elites as well as the general public.
He warned that a US consensus has to be reached on how to solve
the problems and, more importantly, what role the United States
needs to play and how much it should contribute to such a global
effort.
Huang was optimistic about the future of the world climate.
"The entire history of our human beings is a history of
overcoming challenges. Now the challenges from the energy security
and environment are more formidable than ever which demands a joint
effort from all of us," Huang stressed.
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(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2008)
