Climate Change: Planet before profit
Climate change has become a huge issue throughout the world. Recent months have seen the publication of stark reports and a major film by former US vice president Al Gore which have all highlighted the dangers posed to the planet by the increase in the earth’s temperature.
By Michael Murphy, Socialist Party
Eleven of the last twelve years (1995-2006) rank among the twelve warmest years in the instrumental record of global surface temperature (1850).
Green house gases emissions including carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane are the main cause of global warming. These gases create a blanket in the earth’s atmosphere causing the sun’s heat to be trapped inside the earth’s atmosphere like a greenhouse which increases the average temperature of the earth.
The Kyoto protocol, which flowed from the Rio earth summit in 1992, was published in 1997, and only came into effect in 2005. It aimed to cut global emissions by 3%-8% of their 1990 levels by 2012 though it is estimated that cuts of 60%-80% are now necessary.
The United States, which contributes 25% of the world’s CO2 emissions, refused to sign up to Kyoto as did Australia. It is estimated that by 2020 the US will emit almost one fifth more gases that lead to global warming!
The cost of reaching sustainability just for greenhouse gas emissions in the USA will rise to 3% of GDP after 50 years – or the equivalent $300 billion per year.
Capitalism is incapable of dealing with the crisis of climate change because profit is the driving force of capitalism and as investment in alternative energy is costly, it will impact on profiteering. Ethanol companies have performed badly on stock exchanges, where as the big oil companies which are making massive profits and wield huge political influence have too much to lose. Exxon Mobil for example recorded the biggest recorded annual profit for a US corporation last year – net earnings of $39.5 billion, an increase of $3.4 billion on 2006.
In Ireland greenhouse gas emissions grew by 23% between 1990 and 2004. Transport emissions (marine and air excluded) grew by 140% in the same period, six times the EU average mainly due Ireland’s appalling public transport and over dependence on the car.
Under the Kyoto protocol targets Ireland is to reduce emissions to 13% of 1990 levels however the rate is now 25% and climbing.
The government allocated €270 million in the last budget for the purchase of carbon credits overseas. This is a scam where richer countries can buy credits from poorer countries in return for aid, but the rich countries can use the credits to duck their responsibility on reducing emissions. However the day arrives when you’ve to pay back.
Due to the pressure of climate change the allegedly cheap and potentially quick solution of nuclear power is being touted more and more. A major problem with nuclear power generation is the storage of the radioactive waste uranium and plutonium that is generated from the process. The storage of this waste needs to be guaranteed safe for 100,000 years. It is obviously very hard to predict the natural conditions at the time. Burying it in the earth or under the sea bring problems such as earthquakes and the potential for seepage, which would have devastating consequences.
The Socialist Party supports the need for all of us to change our individual behaviour as a contribution to a more sustainable life style. However this is not enough.
It is necessary to build a movement of working people to challenge capitalism which puts profits before our environment. A socialist economy could transfer energy production to renewable sources such as wind, tidal and solar over a relatively short period.
However as long as the global economy remains in the hands of the multinational corporations where profits are king, then there will be no serious move to deal with climate change. This can only be done on the basis of socialist planning of the planet’s resources under the democratic control of the working class.
