The Swedish EU presidency is soon finishing its six-month term without any concrete promises for the summit meeting on Climate Change to be held in Copenhagen next month. The big countries considered to make a big difference in achieving the target figure in reduced carbon dioxide emission such as United States, China and India are adamant to make any commitments. The deciding factor - as enunciated by India during the recent trip by Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, is economics rather than environment. Economic progress at the cost of environment devastation is a hard political choice being made in the US, China, India as well as the lesser developed members of the European Union like Poland. The financial crises that hit the world economy left debris that got in the way of economic productivity. It is the strongest reason by many industrialised countries to prioritise economic development at the cost of enviornmental adjustments such as reduction of carbon dioxide emission.
Countries like India and China have strong economies with global impact but at the same time, they have a huge population of extremely poor people. Environmental problems are coming not just from unregulated industrial processes but from usage of natural resources in the areas where poor people earn their livelihood. Forests, rivers, seas are drained of their environmental balance when poverty becomes an excuse for abuse and exploitation.
At the outset of the Swedish EU presidency, it has been made clear that all other areas of concern such as admission of new EU members, regulation of refugee and asylum intake, labour migration, unemployment, regulation of the financial system and bonus payouts, as well as synchronisation of the internal EU market will take a backseat position. The overwhelming concern is signing a climatic change agreement to secure both the short and long-term welfare of the human community. # ( Photo by Jayline. Manila is flooded)
