“Change the System, don’t change the climate”

How many politicians today talk about the environment, how many promises have we heard coming from their mouths regarding “tougher legislations/ commitments”. Barack Obama in its 2008 Presidential campaign made a speech in Detroit about its environmental concerns that America should be more involved and concerned. Yet during the Copenhagen Summit as usually politicians put their environmental concerns aside since for many is synonyms of bad economics.

While many would agree that there’s been success in many negotiations others can rightful argue that there’s been no measured or tangible success from this negotiations. The lack of consensus from scientists regarding the effect of human behaviour in the environments is used by many governments and people to dismiss the importance of climate change and its effects on human life in the future. The future seems another excuse since we (western countries) are not suffering major effects of climate change like Maldives and other south countries, so why bother now.

During the Copenhagen summit for climate change, third world countries such as Venezuela complained of being left in the sidelines, once again the final accord was made behind closed doors and between the most powerful economies. These agreements aren’t successful also because they do not represent the will of all states, not that this blog will demonstrate this; also sometimes too many opinions can jeopardise efforts for improvement. But exclusion of different opinions and stand points has not achieved anything substantial in these matters anyway. What the Copenhagen summit demonstrates once more is that only the richest states can have say on the results many deals are negotiated only by the most powerful states.

The lack of successful outcomes in environmental negotiations comes from the difficulties that these negotiations go through; from failed model systems (lack of International Government responsible for environment) to bureaucratic requirements (ratifications, not legally binding, etc). But all this problems can be overcome if there will to do it not only from governments but from us also the people who gives power to this people. But why stop driving our cars, or even taking holidays abroad; if a change my lifestyle and other people not I will only be losing. This seems to be what many of us think, well at least me, I am not ready to change my lifestyle.

‘If climate was a bank, you would have already saved it’.
President Hugo Chavez addressing the richest countries at Copenhagen Summit 2009