You do it. No, you do it.

There appears to be consensus among international leaders that climate change must be reversed.

The consensus, however, is that it is up to the other guy to make the sacrifices needed to keep the Earth’s temperatures from continuing to rise – and causing the kind of havoc expected to be caused by the increase.

The leaders of about 100 nations are gathering in New York this week to discuss the issue at what The New York Times described as “highest level summit meeting on climate change ever convened.”

But it remains unclear whether the efforts expected to take place this week – they began Tuesday with round-tables on climate change – will shift talks out of neutral, where they have remained stalled for some time.

“The mood in the negotiations has been that I should do as little as possible as late as possible and let the other person go first,” said Kim Carstensen, the director of the Global Climate Initiative of the World Wildlife Fund.

There is some movement forward, but not a comprehensive, international plan. As The Times writes, “virtually all of the largest developed and developing nations have made domestic commitments toward creating more efficient, renewable sources of energy to cut emissions,” but — and this is key — “none want to take the lead in fighting for significant international emissions reduction targets, lest they be accused at home of selling out future jobs and economic growth.”

It is, as Jeffrey Sachs told the Times, a selfish nationalism that privileges parochial gains at the expense of humanity.

“The instinct is a kind of nationalist response that can get it exactly backwards,” said Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. “We should be viewing this as global problem solving, not as global negotiation.”

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet