Rich Nations Destroying Planet Earth

Happy is the man whose wish and care a few paternal acres bound, content to breathe his native air in his own ground while arising in the morning, thinking of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

My note: Rich nations are the cause of many things which are destroying our planet. The natural world, the earth itself; the air, the trees, the vast realms of animals, plants, oceans, deserts and mountains are increasingly losing meaning and value in the self-hypnotized, narcissistic lives of greedy nations. It’s sad indeed when we ignore the real thing around us which is our natural surrounding environment, including the spiritual nature of our being, and instead remain culled to a collective mechanical-vision of the artificial man-made life. Christianity teaches that, of all the creatures and life-forms upon this planet, only human beings have souls that can be saved, yet, those rich nations that abandoned the Christian faith are allying themselves with evil Arab states like Saudi Arabia and its tiny Wahhabi satellite nation of Qatar. These nation were willing to sell their souls in their quest “to inherit this earth”, and ultimately destroy it mercilessly.

“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” Matthew 16:26

Doha, Qatar is hosting the latest round of United Nations talks on climate change. But can a major oil and gas hub with the highest carbon footprint per person in the world and inhospitable climate lead the way on a switch to a green economy?

According to the World Wildlife Fund’s latest report, Qatar still has the world’s largest carbon footprint

It’s been a couple of years since Qatar was awarded the ‘largest carbon footprint in the world‘ title (relative to the size of its population), but it appears little has changed since then. Despite various green initiative such as supporting local farms and ensuring that all new mosques were eco, they are still spewing record amounts of carbon for such a tiny nation. And once again, the nations next on the list were Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. It seems that old habits die hard and no more so than in the Gulf.

The fact that these countries are amongst the richest nations in the Middle East is clearly part of the problem – well, it’s part of the explanation anyhow. According to the WWF Living Planet report, high-income countries have an ecological footprint on average five times higher than that of low-income nations.

Carbon

Doha has the largest carbon footprint per person in the world. Qataris use five times the amount of carbon than the average Briton, at 44 metric tonnes per person per year in 2009. This is largely because of energy intensive air conditioning and desalination plants for water. Because water and electricity is free, there is little incentive to cut usage.

Gas

The UK spends more on gas from Qatar than any other country. In 2011 the UK spent £4.25bn on Qatari gas, 70 per cent more than our next largest import partner, Norway.

This is not because the UK imports more gas from Qatar than Norway but because it is much more expensive.

The tiny emirate has more than 15 per cent of the world’s proven gas reserves and has talked about using “unconventional sources” in future, opening the possibility of deepwater drilling or shale.

Human rights

Migrant workers, including workers on gas rigs, make up more than 80 per cent of Qatar’s population and come mostly from south and south-east Asia.

Continue reading: Modern Slavery: The Plight of Foreign Workers in Qatar

Climate reputation

As a developing country Qatar does not have fixed emission reduction targets, nor has it made any voluntary pledge to cut emissions.

There will be pressure on Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries to announce targets during the UN meeting.

Source: WWF; Telegraph

List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions

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$67 Billion For Environmental Damages

“Africa contributes very little to the pollution blamed for global warming but its people are likely to be among the hardest hit by droughts, floods and rising sea levels.”

The African Union is considering a proposal to demand at least $67 billion a year in environmental damages from developed countries at the Copenhagen Climate summit in December. Africa is seeking a common position to increase its bargaining power in Copenhagen.

For the first time, 53 African nations have come under one umbrella to speak in one voice on the upcoming climate change negotiations in Copenhagen. Representatives of 10 African heads of state have gathered this week at AU headquarters in Addis Abeba to determine how much the continent should ask in compensation at the UN climate summit in December.

Continue reading…

Of course, the effects of climate change affect the poorest people first. May be time is running out for Africa to cleaning up an environmental problem that the industrialized world has created.

African nations have struggled to find a common position in many aspects, and this sort of resolution should help in creating a united front and increasing the continent’s bargaining power.

Relevant readings:

“African farms becoming too hot to handle “

“An insurance plan for climate change victims”

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