In 2017, it was calculated that the total emission of carbon dioxide was 54 gigaton against the carrying capacity of 21 gigaton of the planet. It means that the planet was burden with 33 gigaton of additional carbon dioxide. It was further estimated that to remain within limit of carrying capacity of earth the allowance for emission for every individual would be 3 ton on yearly basis. However, the emissions are neither correspond to limit nor equally distributed. The global average of emission on per capita basis is 7.5 ton. Besides, rich and advanced economies are major contributors. USA top the list with 17 ton per person per year followed by countries like Australia (15.5 ton) and other. China lies at the line of world average of 7.5 tons. However, countries like Pakistan (.78 ton), Mali (.1 ton)and many others are at the bottom of the emission table.
Owning to persistent breach of the carrying capacity of planet the situation is quite gloomy and scary.It has introduced unprecedented problems like climate change. Climate change threatened each and every aspect of life on planet earth. Natural disasters like floods, urban flood, GLOF, droughts and storms have become routine matter. The environmental degradation cost has reached the figure of US$ 709 billion on annual basis (WWF). It is alarming situation because world is already facing numerous challenges including the investment gap of US$ 5.5 trillion to sustain the basic services infrastructure for people. Now the additional cost of environmental degradation, which keeps growing will further aggravate the situation. World community is striving hard to find tools to combat challenges and find solutions for sustainable and peaceful future for humanity and planet earth. But it suggested that before looking for solutions world must look for root causes not the symptoms to fight the manic of environmental degradation. World need to come out of blaming sectors like energy, agriculture etc. and needs to focus on root causes which turn these sectors into houses of GHG emissions.
It has been in debate for some time that the existing model of development which is based on capitalism is real cause of problem. The capital system is built on the fundamental concepts of 1) profit, 2) money making and 3) ecology as external factor. The system has prime objective to ensure the profit at any cost. It keeps looking to enhance the profit. It led to exploitation of ecology and humans, equally. Money making has become the prime objective. It has been promoted through education and cooperate led campaigns at the one name or other. The individualism was stimulated and sponsored to enhance consumption, which led to more profit. The ecology and human society were kept at back burner. Human were treated as markets to extract profit. The echo-ethics were completely ignored and voices to ask for echo-justice were snubbed. It has resulted in huge in-equalities and degradation of ecology. Oxfam calculated that 8 rich people own wealth equivalent to 3.6 billion people. Human are also consuming 1.7 times the regeneration capacity of planet. These factors are contributing to disintegration of society and collapse of ecology.
Pakistan and China are already working to promote renewable energy through solar, wind and hydropower projects but both countries can further expand the scope of work in other areas like agriculture and industrial cooperation
The good part is that world leaders is recognizing the problem. The bad part is that they are trying to find solutions from the system which resulted in this disaster. The UN agencies including UNFCCC, UNEP, UNDP etc. regional organizations and power groups like G-7, G-20, EU, etc. are not ready to look beyond the existing system. Rather they are trying to create space for capitalist cooperate to be part of the system to devise their tools. We need to understand that the cooperate sectoronly concern about their profit by offering little in charity. So, the result is that the problem is still here, and it is becoming more and more serious with every passing day or moment.
Hence, there is need to move on from the existing model of development or work on post capitalist system. It is necessity of the time. Post Capitalism has been discussed in many forms like post-modernization, socialist capitalism, constructive post-modernization andecological Marxism. The name can be different, but the objective is the same, to achieve a balanced and adequate development.The constructive post-modernization and Ecological Marxism are the most interesting alternatives to be studied. Fred Magdoff, Foster, Kang Ouyang, Prof. Haung, Whitehead, Griffin and Cobb have worked extensively on the subject.
The debate has led to the formulation of new model with the name of “Eco-civilization”. The model has been developed by refining the capitalist model, retaining the better parts of the system and inducing ecology as a part of system. More specifically it talks about to change, 1) money making with better living, 2) profit with prosperity, and 3) ecology from external factor to be part of system.The proposed changes would be crucial to redraw the development model, which cater the needs of development but with the focus on the human and nature equally.
Presently, China is the only country, which has shown interest to pilot the model.It has started to implement it., President Xi has directed all his governments, central, provincial and local, to take it as priority. President Xi think it is according to his principle of contradiction, which says “development is in-adequate and un-balance”. China is working to transform the energy production, use and efficiency. President Xi has also channeled his vision globally through the BRI. This is a good opportunity for Pakistan to benefit from the vision of President Xi being part of BRI through CPEC. Although, Pakistan and China are already working to promote renewable energy through solar, wind and hydropower projects but both countries can further expand the scope of work in other areas like agriculture and industrial cooperation. Special initiatives should be designed for the green industrial and agriculture cooperation. The green initiatives must be financed at priority basis and there should be special market concessions also.
President Xi Jinping is of the point of view that China should learn from the industrialization period and refine the model of development. The model, which ensure equality and caters for the needs of nature. It should promote environment friendly model of development with mechanisms to distribute the benefits of the development. As, once he said, “If world fail to cater for the needs of the nature, the revenge of nature would be merciless”.
The writer is Director, Asia Study Center SDPI