Global warming leaves the poor out in the cold
February 6, 2008
Don’t misunderstand me: concerns about how we abuse nature and squander resources are more than warranted. It was high time that the risks attendant on environmental mismanagement were put in the spotlight. Al Gore has made an important contribution towards the heightened awareness of this problem. In fact, his presentation has been so persuasive that his cause is being embraced without question or comment. Political and corporate leaders are falling over themselves to climb on the climate change bandwagon. But whether the ensuing investments will have the desired effect is doubtful. It sometimes seems as if genuine change for the better matters less than the feel-good sense of “doing something good about a big problem.”
That is a deplorable and counterproductive attitude. Scarce funds are being wasted on high-profile but fruitless efforts. This money must be put to better use. Every euro can only be spent once and the poor of the world are the victims of the misguided tendency to pump funds into climate projects that lack a clear focus. The unquantifiable and uncertain future benefits of these projects are evidently considered to be of greater value than tangible efforts to alleviate poverty now. The bitter but unavoidable conclusion is that the life of an unborn Westerner is worth more than that of the chronically poor living today in the Third World. Global warming, in short, is leaving the poor out in the cold.
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