The Politics of Climate Change

1. The Politics of Climate Change Anthony Giddens

2. The book is a prolonged enquiry into a single question: why does anyone, anyone at all, for even a single day longer, continue to drive an SUVs (Sports, Utility and Vehicles)?” • The underlying assumptions here are that car manufacturers have every right in the world to sell SUV motor vehicles; and that every travelling consumer has the right to purchase a motor vehicle for the purpose of travelling. • So, why do people continue to drive SUVs? Why are SUVs still on sale ? • If the consumer, have the right to a full sets of choice, then every choice open to him/her should be the “green” choice, the Low Carbon choice. • Author writes: “Almost everyone across the world must have heard the phrase ‘climate change’ … Yet the vast majority are doing very little, if anything at all, to alter their daily habits, even though those habits are the source of the dangers that climate change has in store for us.”

3. Contents • Introduction • Climate Change, Risk and Danger • Running Out, Running Down? • The Greens and After • The Track Record So Far • A Return To Planning? • Technologies and Taxes • The Politics of Adaptation • International Negotiations, the EU and Carbon Markets • The Geopolitics of Climate Change • Afterword

4. Introduction • Climate Change issue jumped into the forefront in the last quarter across the world. • No matter how much we are told about the threats, it is hard to face up to them, because they feel somehow unreal • Since the dangers posed by the global warming are not tangible, immediate or visible in the day to course of life – however awesome they are, many people will sit on their hands and do nothing - Gidden’s Paradox • People find it hard to give same level of reality to the future as they do to the present – Future Discounting • Market have bigger role than emission trading in climate change mitigation

5. Introduction • Climate Change has been forced into the politics by the Green Movement – which purpose was ‘Going Green’ • Coping with global warming requires long-term perspective into the politics • Public should be on board • Using climate change for vested interest of specific group should stop • Radical technological innovation • Basic concepts of Climate Change Politics refers • Develop a politics of climate change where state should act as facilitator • Political Convergence: how far climate change policy overlap in a positive way with other values and political goal? • Economic Convergence: how far economic and technological innovations developed to combat global warming and generates competitive advantage

6. Introduction • Development Imperatives: Poor must have chance to develop as they are contributing very little in global warming and also to reduce global inequalities • Climate change is also integrated with the energy security : Energetic leadership and government initiatives requires to promote ideas and technologies • There are some key guidance discussed in the book are: • Promote political and economic convergence: Entrepreneurship that brings economic advantages of enlightened environmental policy. • Establish a concern with climate change into people’s everyday lives • Don’t place too much faith on carbon markets • Avoid making political capital out of global warming • Establish an agreement with major party rivals to continuity of climate change policy • Set-up detail risk assessment procedures • Promote renewable energy resources • Cooperates with other countries

7. Climate Change, Risk and Danger • The origin of Global Warming identified in the work of French Scientist Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier • Then promoted by John Tyndall – Royal Institute in London worked out which atmospheric elements trapped infrared • Some scenarios: • Greenhouse gasses are progressively increased in the atmosphere • Warming is greater over land than over ocean and higher in northern latitudes • IPCC established in 1988 and fourth published in 2007 and IPCC says that ‘warming of the climate system is unequivocal’ • Six different scenario groups or future possibilities defined by the IPCC • IPCC predicts that resource-based wars could dominate the current centuries; coastal cities could become flooded; provoking mass destitution and mass migration; drier areas become more arid.

8. Climate Change, Risk and Danger • The Skeptics and Their Critics • Fred Singer and Dennis Avery: Modern warming is moderate and not man-made’ • Other Skeptics: ‘1500 year climate change cycle driven by shifting sun-spot variation’ . IPCC is recognized as political and bureaucratic body as well’ • Danish Author: wrote the book ‘The Skeptical Environmentalist’ • Channel 4 TV documentary on ‘The Great Global Warming Swindle’ – 2007 • Fred Pearce: ‘Climate is not go in for gradual change as past climate variation evident’ • Skeptics recognizes that climate change is uncertain: • The earth is robust and nothing could happen to it • The earth is more like a mild beast, ready and able to react • If the climate change is certain it would come faster than the current rate

9. Climate Change, Risk and Danger • Gee-Gees: Global Geophysical Events refers catastrophes that severely damage social fabric and economy across the world • Giant Tsunami • Massive Earthquake • Large Asteroid or Comet • Rationale of Gee-Gees in mentioning with Climate Change • Such hazards have potentiality to swill our fears • Gee-gees could intersect with dangers arising from Climate Change • Strategies for Gee-gees may control the Climate Change • Enter the Optimist • Cultural Changes • Technological Innovations

10. The Greens and After • Green Movement • Green thinking is a creation of industrial revolution like socialism • Ecologism : in Germany • Eco-fascism : in Germany • Green as a global movement before Rio in 1992 • Global Green Network • Ecological wisdom (Ecological harmony and equilibrium) • Social justice • Participatory democracy and nonviolence • Sustainability and respect for diversity • Green emerged as a movement emphasizing grass-root democracy and localism. • Greens often describe themselves as anti-scientism not as anti-science

11. The Greens and After • Sustainable Development • Limits to Growth by the Club of Rome 1972 • Human Environment : Conference by UN in 1972 • Brundtland Report by World Commission on Environment and Development 1987 • Comprehensive Sustainable Development Strategy by EU in 2001 • Environmental Sustainability is defined in terms of five elements • The condition of ecological system such as air, soil and water • The stresses to which those systems are subject, including their level of pollution • The impact of such stress up on the human society, i.e. availability of food or exposure of diseases • The social ad industrial capacity of a society to cope with environmental hazards • The capacity to create stewardship of global public goods, especially the atmosphere

12. The Greens and After • Over development • Polluters pay • The politics of climate change concepts • The ensuring state • Political convergence • Economic convergence • Foregrounding • Climate change positive • Political transcendence • The Percentage principles • The development imperatives • Over development • Proactive adaptation