The Political Economy of Global Warming and its Changing Strategic Role

Abstract

To a military strategist of the last century when nation states were eager to retain their sovereign power, weather was a potential weapon. In the 21st century, when the role of the nation states is being redefined, the strategic importance of weather may have changed. This paper has been divided into three sections were the changing importance of climate, in a TNC (transnational corporation) dominated world order has been analyzed. The first section, briefly discusses the genesis of the global warming concept - its scientific basis, economic consequence and political motives. The second section, deals with the major developments in the global warming issue during the period between the Rio Earth Summit and ratification of Kyoto protocol in 2005. This section we also highlights the fact that within a decade of its declaration, the basic objectives of the Rio Earth Summit have been distorted systematically confirming to the suspicion that from its inception, the objectives were not seriously taken up by the leaders. In this new century, the TNCs would play more important role than the sovereign nation states, in developing rules and regulations of different multilateral treaties, pertaining to important issues like climate change, intellectual property rights etc. The power of the nation states is eroding very fast. The TNCs with the help of mainstream global media, on which they have almost total control, are capable to systematically establish or suppress any 'scientific' view, which are important for their strategic planning. Under this changed power structure, old strategies and tactics are bound to change. 'Weather' which had a strategic importance as 'weapon' to a nation state during cold war period, is likely to have a strategic importance of different type (as 'economic good') to a TNC dominated world order of this century. Now the emphasis is more on economics than politics. The paradigm shift is very clear and distinct. The third section discusses the implications of the Kyoto Protocol on the global environment and energy market. By shifting environmentally hazardous activities to the fund-starved poorer countries, pollutions will be 'parceled out' to the Southern states. The responsibility of reducing the 'green house gas' has been shifted already to the less polluting developing countries by promising a few extra dollars. The Kyoto protocol basically has done this through its much-hyped clean development mechanism. However, few civil societies in the North have taken initiatives to correct this practice.The study concludes with the observation that in an integrated global economy, where TNCs have developed alliances with their local partners for further consolidation of their power, an international alliance of consumer and civil societies to safeguard common citizens' interest across the globe is essential. Fortunately few initiatives to this effect have been made. In the absence of such a coordinated effort, Southern countries, as before, will remain at the receiving ends and would be treated as dump yards for Northern wastes and pollutants.