The hypocrite West is blaming the world for climate change!
WTF #7 The Dark Past of Industrial Revolution: Unveiling the Greenwashed Western History!
Just imagine — a person (X) just made a delicious chocolate cake and then took their time to enjoy it while you (Y) were still learning the ABC of baking.
After a while when you finally learned to bake, you decided to make the cake.
When the cake is almost done, the person comes and dumps your cake in the bin saying that it's bad to waste electricity to bake and anyway, the cake is bad for your health!
Angry? Frustrated? Confused as to why I am talking about a cake?
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Let me explain — person X refers to the developed nations i.e. the Western countries and person Y refers to the developing nations. Baking the cake is an analogy used for development.
What I’m really trying to explain is that developed nations have always been hypocrites when it comes to development and their interests.
To understand the LA LA LAND of Hypocrites, let us understand the process of development and where does environment come into play.
How did the developed become developed?
Most of today’s Developed nations were yesterday’s colonizers and made progress at the expense of colonized countries through a combination of political, economic, and social exploitation.
During the colonial era, these nations established colonies in various parts of the world and used the resources and labor of the colonized people to fuel their own economic growth and development.
Whether it was exploiting the natural resources of the colonized countries, such as minerals, timber, and agricultural products, for their own benefit, they established extractive industries, such as mining and plantation agriculture, and used the profits to build their own economies.
They often forced colonized countries to sell raw materials at low prices and buy manufactured goods at high prices, further fuelling their own economic growth.
Established political control over the colonized countries, often through military force, and imposed their own economic and social systems on the colonized people. They often undermined local economies and cultures, while exploiting local labour and resources.
Environmental damage due to the development Bandwagon of the West
It's worth noting that the development of wealthy nations has often come at the expense of developing countries.
It is also clear that the period of rapid industrialization had significant negative impacts on the environment and human health.
While it is difficult to estimate the exact carbon footprint of the Industrial Revolution, it is widely acknowledged that it contributed significantly to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting climate change.
The period saw a rapid expansion of industry and the widespread adoption of fossil fuels, which led to a sharp increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
Coal, oil, and natural gas were used to power factories and transportation, which led to a significant increase in carbon emissions. The use of these fossil fuels also contributed to air pollution and other environmental problems. The industrialization of agriculture also contributed to greenhouse gas emissions, as large-scale farming operations required the use of fossil fuels for equipment and transportation.
Rich countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, and much of Western Europe, account for just 12 percent of the global population today but are responsible for 50 percent of all the planet-warming greenhouse gases released from fossil fuels and industry over the past 170 years.
HYPOCRISY LEVEL 1:
Blame shifting and Carbon Shifting
Western countries are always busy peddling the blame on developing nations in an attempt to shift the responsibility of climate change, turning a blind eye to the fact that developed countries, even today, are the main culprits of CO2 emissions.
Developed countries have been "polluting, managing, then transferring [the pollution to other regions]."
A single person in the West uses more fossil fuel energy than all the energy available to 23 poor Africans. The rich world became wealthy by massively exploiting fossil fuels, which today provide more than three-quarters of its energy. Solar and wind deliver less than 3% of the rich world’s energy. Yet, the rich are choking off funding for any new fossil fuels in the developing world.
The Western countries as well as Western activists accuse the developing nations of producing too much greenhouse gases when it is the Western industries in Asia that are largely accountable for the increased carbon footprint.
The Global Carbon Project, measures CO2 emissions worldwide in two categories for each country, “production emissions” (that is, the CO2 produced within a country’s borders) and “consumption emissions” (the CO2 emitted around the world in the course of manufacturing goods for that country).
The result - developed nations “consume” a fair bit more CO2 than they actually emit within their own borders. They have indeed outsourced a big chunk of their climate pollution to the developing world.
During the early 2000s, these “emissions transfers” were growing at a stunning pace, nearly 11% per year, as more and more Western manufacturing like computers, electronics, apparel, and furniture was shifting to Asia. The West rose in economy and the pollution by these Western countries was all that the developing nations were left with.
HYPOCRISY LEVEL 2:
Biased accusations on the developing world by the glorified West
The developed world got rich on the back of fossil fuels. Now, it wants everyone else to go by its environmental standards when many other countries are still mired in poverty and underdevelopment due to the actions of the West.
There have been many instances where developed nations have criticized developing nations over environmental damage overlooking their past actions. Here are a few examples:
Amazon Rainforest Fires: In 2019, fires in the Amazon rainforest received widespread media attention. Many developed nations, including France and Germany, criticized Brazil for not doing enough to prevent fires and protect the rainforest.
Plastic Waste: Developed nations have criticized developing nations for their role in the plastic waste crisis. For example, in 2018, Malaysia temporarily stopped importing plastic waste from developed nations, citing concerns over contamination and environmental damage.
Deforestation: Developed nations have criticized developing nations for deforestation, particularly in Southeast Asia and Africa. For example, in 2015, the European Union imposed a ban on imports of illegally harvested timber, which was primarily targeted at developing nations.
Coal-Fired Power Plants: Developed nations have criticized developing nations for continuing to build new coal-fired power plants, which are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. For example, in 2019, Japan came under criticism for financing new coal projects in Southeast Asia.
HYPOCRISY LEVEL 3:
Green Colonialism a.k.a Greenwashed policies of the West— FAULTY AT BEST!
Green colonialism refers to the practice of developed countries imposing their own environmental policies and practices on developing countries, often without taking into account the unique circumstances and needs of these countries. Here are a few examples of green colonialism:
Carbon Offsetting: Developed countries have promoted carbon offsetting as a way for individuals and companies to reduce their carbon footprint. However, many of these offset projects are located in developing countries and can negatively impact local communities, such as displacement and loss of land rights.
REDD+: The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) program aims to incentivize developing countries to protect their forests to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the program has been criticized for promoting a one-size-fits-all approach that ignores the needs and rights of indigenous peoples and local communities living and dependent on these forests.
Clean Development Mechanism: The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows developed countries to meet their emissions reduction targets by financing projects in developing countries that reduce emissions. However, the CDM has been criticized for prioritizing projects that benefit developed countries and corporations, rather than those that address the needs and priorities of developing countries.
EU’s CBAM - Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, is an import tariff on carbon-intensive goods from abroad. It is applied as an import tax the importer pays when products enter the European Union. The EU has formalized this method to stop ‘carbon leakage’ or moving production of high-polluting products to nations outside of the EU in its bid to go green. It places a carbon charge on companies from countries that did not primarily cause climate change. Mozambique’s GDP, for example, would drop by about 1.5% due to the tariffs on aluminum exports alone, according to the Centre of Global Development.
NEED OF THE HOUR.
Developed nations have been allowed to industrialize at whatever pace they wish, and through industrialization produce emissions. Having had free reign to develop for 200 years, the developed nations need to take responsibility for those 200 years of irresponsibility while giving the developing world longer to clean up its act
The developed West has finance as well as technology to fund research and policy framework to provide an equitable solution to climate change. Hence they should come forward to carry their part of the burden.
Consideration of equity, fairness, and sustainable development goals would be essential in the design and implementation of any policy to minimize potential negative impacts on developing countries and ensure that climate action is pursued in a socially and economically just manner.
The West had free reign to develop for 200 years
They came, they plundered, they exploited the environment!
And the mind-boggling fact — they shamelessly blame the developing world for it!
What do you think? Should the developed nations be held accountable for their sins against the Mother Earth? Let’s have a healthy discussion in the comments!
We’ll just leave this here…
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