At
the top of the meeting
agenda is global
energy security,
exactly where it
belongs. At the
bottom of the agenda
is global
environmental
protection, and
that’s a grave
mistake.
Gone
are the days when our
leaders could think of
energy and economic
development as
separate from
environmental
stewardship.
We
now know that the
ambitious goals of the
G8 leadership –
whether in the areas
of energy development
or lessening disease
and conflict –
simply cannot be
achieved without
protecting the natural
systems on which human
health, prosperity and
security depend.
That
is the conclusion of
the Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment,
a comprehensive and
independent scientific
study of the global
environment conducted
by more than 1,300
experts from around
the world.
It
details how our
well-being is closely
tied to the health of
the natural world and
the food, fresh water,
clean air and material
goods it provides us.
And
the Assessment warns
that most of the
natural systems on
which we depend are in
decline because of
development, pollution
and overexploitation.
That will lead to a
lower standard of
living, hardship and
conflict if allowed to
continue.
Nowhere is this truer
than with the G8’s
call for energy
security.
At
the G8 meeting energy
security is being
framed as an issue of
access to conventional
fuels. But
achieving energy
security is not about
tapping every last oil
well or vein of coal
on the planet.
It
is about moving beyond
an addiction to fossil
fuels that drives
international politics
in dangerous
directions and is
implicated in a host
of serious
environmental
problems, especially
the gathering storm of
climate change.
Real
energy security will
come from a diverse
array of renewable
fuel sources,
including solar, wind,
and “biofuels”
such as ethanol.
It
will come from
improved efficiency
that will reduce
demand for polluting
fossil fuels.
It
will come from
understanding how
nature works, how it
benefits us, and doing
as little damage to it
as possible as we
strive to improve the
quality of our lives.
We
need new cooperation
between the government
and business at the
national and
international level to
reach that goal.
Business
investment and
know-how can bring
modern energy services
to the billions of
people in developing
countries that now
lack them, especially
in the booming
economies of
Asia
.
Government
tax and trade policies
can be better aligned
to stimulate
innovation in solving
energy problems.
The
G8 nations have the
resources to
orchestrate this kind
of cooperation across
national boundaries.
Besides their
political clout, they
account for 49% of
global exports and 51%
of industrial output.
At
the same time, G8
members bear the
lion’s share of the
responsibility for the
problems we face. For
example, the
industrialized
countries are home to
just 15% of the
world’s people, yet
produce more than 75%
of the carbon dioxide
pollution that
contributes to global
warming.
Better
choices are emerging.
The Energy Future
Coalition, a
nonpartisan alliance
of business, labor,
and environmental
groups that has shown
how Americans can cut
their oil consumption
by three million
barrels per day (the
amount we now import
from the Persian Gulf)
by improving energy
efficiency and
boosting renewable
fuels production.
There
is good news in the
capital markets as
some of the same
entrepreneurs who
drove the technology
boom are now investing
millions in the
promise of clean
energy. But as
is often the case, our
political vision lags
behind business and
technological
innovation.
The
G8 should not forget
that only last year
that it “resolved to
take urgent action”
to preserve the global
environment—it
should not falter.
The
G8 needs to recognize
what’s at stake and
put environmental
security at the top of
the agenda with energy
security, where it
belongs.
Sen.TimothyWirth@MaximsNews.com
