Take Back The World

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Take Back The World
Media campaigns inspire global action on climate


Despite international pressure, George W Bush, as US president, stubbornly refused to take American policy forward on the issue of dealing with climate change. US credibility on environmental issues took a beating. But that did not deter the American people from creating a groundswell of support for global action to save the environment and improve humanity’s chances of survival. Some state governments and civil society groups initiated clean-up measures with encouraging results. Still, the US continued to resist pressure from home and abroad to ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol that would have meant submitting to compulsory emissions cuts. There’s no tectonic shift in federal policy yet but Democrats led by US president Barack Obama are now pushing a Bill – to which Obama is attaching high priority – setting targets for bringing down US emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 17 per cent by 2020, 42 per cent by 2030 and 83 per cent by 2050, relative to 2005 levels.
Likewise, Australia too has signed up for action – after initially refusing to do so – when it experienced unprecedented drought and water shortages. Thousands of people rallied across Australia this month, calling for emergency action on climate change, with sit-down protests outside Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s city office in Sydney, as well as in front of the Melbourne Town Hall, where the ruling Labour Party was holding a conference.
Citizens’ groups, the student community, civil society organisations and individuals are not waiting for government action. They are formulating environment-friendly agendas in the hope that eventually, concerted popular action will show the way to a sustainable society. That the power of public opinion far surpasses that of a few individuals in governance or institutions is apparent in the way the global movement fostering quality of life is taking shape.
The media has been a crucial catalyst in the greening of public opinion. Conventionally the media is supposed to be preoccupied with national interest, but changing the agenda on climate change is an example of how media can reach out across national boundaries to foster a global interest. For coordinated international action, the media may be an indispensable tool for consciousness raising. This newspaper is a good example of the media spilling over national boundaries. The latest Indian Readership Survey shows it to have 13 million readers in India, but it reaches 16 million readers abroad through the internet. It’s no accident that the Times of India devotes significant space to environmental issues. Let’s hope global opinion finds fruition at the December 2009 Copenhagen meeting when heads of government, experts and non-governmental representatives of the people meet to formulate a consensual agreement on the course of action to be undertaken for the common good.