After the green ghetto Channel 4 programme a few weeks ago, a debate hosted by The Independent asked if nations could realistically cut carbon emissions by enough to avoid a two-degree centigrade rise.
What is described as "a panel of eminent environmentalists" said consumers must acknowledge they were not only the "victims" but the "villains" of global warming and work towards a dramatic shift in life style.
Julian Rush, environment correspondent for Channel 4 News, graced the event and pointed out that:
People in Africa, India and China living very poor, very difficult, very rough lives, see our lives and think: 'I want some of that'. It is going to be very, very hard to convince them they should have a different ambition.
As they did in the Channel 4 discussion, the ghetto greens shy away from this bigger picture. A recent report estimates that over the 20 years to 2030 the EU will achieve average annual growth of 2.5%. China, however, is put at 6.9%, with India achieving 9.3%. Those rates will mean that the relative shares of global GDP change dramatically, with the EU almost halving, to 14% from 27%, India growing to 10% from 2% and China soaring to 24% from 9%.
Against this, the smug western green ghetto is spitting in the wind. At our expense, of course.
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