Globalization is Fueling Global Warming
by Les Leopold
AlterNet (December 28 2007)
As global warming negotiations move from Bali towards a worldwide
treaty, it is important to address how global warming and global trade
work hand-in-hand.
Globalization is to global warming what warm water in the Gulf of Mexico
waters was to Hurricane Katrina. And, unless we wisely limit rapidly
accelerating global trade, we will see equally disastrous and deadly
results - worsening global warming and a continued chemical poisoning of
our world.
For nearly a generation, the mainstream pro-globalization forces have
ignored climate change. Instead we've been bombarded with the virtues of
liberalized trade: It drives down prices, increases efficiency, lifts
nations out of poverty, and contributes to overall global prosperity.
Those who questioned NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT, and the like are derided as
"protectionists", who force artificially high prices on the rest of us
while making our economy less competitive. Manufacturing unions
attempting to stop the destruction of millions of middle-income,
US-based factory jobs are vilified as elitists who are more concerned
about the privileged few than about the poor who gain new jobs in
developing nations.
The subtext of the messaging is clear: globalization is our fate, and
there are no effective controls. Only a foolish Luddite would stand in
its way, we are told.
Missing from this narrative, as Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national
security adviser to Jimmy Carter, has pointed out, is that globalization
is a policy, not an act of God. He is right. Human policy-making shapes
expanding world trade. And the policy of trade liberalization, among
other things, is warming the planet.
Global free trade proponents skillfully argue for comparative advantage,
opening up markets, and economies of scale. They point to the
communications marvels that have flattened and shrunken the world,
putting us all in contact and in competition with each other for the
best ideas and products.
Global warming, however, puts a kink in this new global utopia because
it demands that we also include the costs of externalities - the carbon
dioxide emitted from shipping and flying goods all over the globe -
goods that could easily be produced much closer to the point of consumption.
It may be marvelous to text message your colleague in Bangalore, but
from a carbon dioxide perspective, it's folly to fly fresh raspberries
from Chile to California. And under current trade policies, we will
import the next wave of high-efficiency light bulbs to save energy while
wasting some of the gain on the carbon used to transport them here from
around the globe.
But the elephant in the room is hyper-development. Expanded trade indeed
has contributed to the enormous economic growth rates in China (and
India). As a result, China's appetite for fuel and power has grown
exponentially: As The New York Times reported (June 11 2006), every week
to ten days, another coal-fired power plant comes online in China large
enough to serve a major US city.
Pollyannaish analysts argue this too will pass when global carbon cap
and trading schemas are put in place, and a price, in effect, is placed
on carbon emissions. This, we are told, will lead to a burst of new
technologies and efficiencies that dramatically reduce global warming
gases. Perhaps. But it seems this should have been thought through as
part of trade liberalization, rather than left to the indefinite future.
As a result, we are trapped in a race against the accelerating forces of
rapid, carbon-fueled development unleashed by our very own trade policies.
And, it's apparent who the winners are in this race as onto our store
shelves and into our homes come toxic toys, toxic pharmaceuticals, toxic
toothpaste, and toxic dog food - very predictable products of
accelerated global trade. It is ironic to hear pundits and politicians
rage against the poor regulatory and inspection protocols in "Communist"
China - the virtual hub of global capitalist production.
In fact, first world multinationals, the loudest cheerleaders for
unfettered free trade, are commissioning these products and shipping
them here. And as many early 20th century muckrakers would have warned,
these corporations require stringent regulation. They need to be
"guided" away from the age-old temptation to cut corners, or turn a
blind eye when sub-contractors use forced labor or contaminated
substances. Common sense would have called for those regulations to be
in place before giving the green light to the transfer of production to
wherever labor was least expensive and safeguards most porous.
Already, the European Union is working to get these toxic substances out
of consumer products, but the United States stands increasingly alone
against such standards. And, we wonder why our kids are getting sick
from playthings.
Unfettered global trade will make efforts to reverse global warming and
deliver safe products to our country all the more difficult. We must
start with a renunciation of our fatalism and put a halt to the name
calling. In fact, we should thank the labor and environmental critics of
accelerated trade for alerting us to these dangers.
Next we should insist that every trade agreement should include global
warming impact studies that assess the carbon footprints of accelerated
trade.
And, as many have argued, rigorous safety inspections on food,
pharmaceuticals, and other consumer items must be put in place before
products cross our borders.
And yes, we also will need carefully constructed border adjustment taxes
so that new green, carbon-reducing industries can be nourished at home.
Those high efficiency light bulbs, wind generators and solar panels
should not be imported from factories tied to inefficient energy sources
sent from afar on ships and planes burning fossil fuels. The next wave
of green products should instead be manufactured closer to where they
will be used, creating homegrown, green jobs while helping to reduce
global warming.
Or we can continue waiting for the invisible hand to determine our fate
- a fate that will ensure global warming to go unchecked and unabated,
and more children sucking toxic toys.
