Since the industrialization era in 1850, the western countries had been aggressively exploiting carbon-based energy such as oil and coal for their development.
As it was their initial phase to transform their agriculture-dominated economy to industry-run one, they had to take that path with no option.
Scientists proved that the current global warming and climate change are attributable to emission gas released from industries.
In 1972, during their meeting in Stockholm Sweden under the auspicious of the United Nations, they agreed on the vitality of climate negotiations among countries on emission gas reduction, a task which still going on.
Climate negotiation by its nature is very complicated because of the divergent interests of the negotiating parties particularly between the developed and the developing ones. This makes the convergence of stances very demanding.
While the advanced countries are historically responsible for the current climate change, the developing countries have become victimized by such phenomena.
Professor John Manqué is working in the Korean university. He had written various articles on green growth. Recently, he has just authored a book entitled “Global breach”.
When he made a public lecture here, this article writer got a chance to talk to him.
As to John, his book argues that China heavily utilized oil and coal as an input for its industrialization similar to the USA, Great Britain, and European countries, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. It contributed a great deal for global warming.
China’s rapid economic development, coupled with huge consumption of carbon-based energy for the last 30 years, poses the challenge of possible devastation of the environment which in turn hangs a question mark on the achievement. This has become a public concern.
Considering the collateral damage in polluting the environment, China has resorted to exploring and exploiting renewable energy as a mitigation endeavor.
However, the US does not seem happy with such efforts and wants China to remain a consumer of coal and oil energy.
According to Professor John, the location of China in the Far East Asia, which is far from the Middle East and Africa where carbon-based energy is abundantly found, transporting oil is very costly.
As an alternative to such inhibitive situation, China took exploiting renewable sources mostly wind and solar energy as a way out.
Currently, many Chinese companies are involved in producing machinery used in exploiting wind resource such as turbine and other apparatus. But the technologies are less efficient as compared to the western countries.
China’s efforts will have a trickle-down effect to the globe but western companies are showing reluctance in supporting Chinese companies.
As to Professor John, the China green growth model has economic viability.
It is exemplary to the developing countries. It reduces costs and helps to adopt and mitigate climate change and global warming and shows the possibility of creating different energy system.
The price of oil is unreliable and fluctuating. Hence, utilizing renewable source, as an alternative means, enables to feed the market affordable energy.
The US companies are marked for supplying high tech machinery helpful to exploit wind and solar energy but unfortunately the companies show very little interest to reach developing countries’ market.
Worse still, the current US president totally denied the existence of climate change and global warming and decided to leave the 2016 Paris agreement, which favors climate vulnerable poor countries. The reason behind the president’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord is that if the US ventures to implement the accord, US energy companies will become losers. Many workers will be laid off.
But, both scientists and economists have proved that no country is immune from global warming. The effects of climate change occasions the melting of snows in North Pole resulting in the rising of the sea level, which threats the swallowing of coastal cities all over the world.
The US has more than 800 hydropower dams that heavily vests hope on rivers and rain. Even if it has a strong mitigation capacity, the shortage and even the absence of rain due to climate change might make the dams not to generate electric power at full capacity and will create repercussions on their economy.
The wild fire and Tornado, combined with heavy rain, which inflicts heavy damage on the US economy is attributable to the current global warming.
The recent wildfire that gutted down some parts of the Amazon forest, which serves as a carbon stock to the world, is an indication how climate change is threatening this planet.
Currently, the issue has become a burning one to all countries particularly to the developing ones. As agriculture is the mainstay of their economy, it might be affected by extreme climate conditions. In addition, due to shortage of rain, the number of their water points is decreasing.
The outbreak of epidemic diseases due to climate change is also forcing them to channel their meager currency to health sector. Flood in the rainy season also shatters their infrastructure.
For long, participants of international climate negotiations advise developing nations to pursue adaptation and mitigation mechanism to overcome the challenge. So far, as part of adaptation mechanism, they have built and strengthened infrastructures such as roads, water, and health and education sectors to withstand the effect of climate change.
In the mitigation front they are trying to change their energy sources from carbon-based to that of renewable energy sources. Many countries engage in developing their hydropower energy. But with regard to developing wind and solar powers, even though the sources are abundantly available particularly in the equatorial state of Africa, they are lagging behind other countries due to lack of technology and finance.
Therefore, importing Chinese technology to tap the resource should be considered as a timely task and feasible economy wise.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday Edition 3 November 2019
BY MEHARI BEYENE
