Six World Leaders On Navigating Climate Change, Without The US
Climate debates often focus on the world’s largest economies and biggest emitters. But the work of adapting to a hotter planet is happening in countries that have contributed little to the problem but are nevertheless exposed to its consequences.
I spoke with six world leaders from these places and heard some common themes — the ravages of extreme weather, the difficulties posed by the Trump administration’s retreat. (The president withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement and denies the existence of climate change.)
But the conversations, which you can see in full, also show how varied environmental predicaments can be. Some of the interviews, condensed and edited, are here:
Kenya
President William Ruto has positioned himself as Africa’s climate leader. Kenya’s energy system is powered in large part by biofuels, wind and solar power. But many African countries, including Kenya, have struggled to obtain competitive financing for clean-energy projects. Ruto’s push for climate action has not moved many voters who want improvements in government services, currency stability and living costs.
Talking to your countrymen, how do you explain your focus on something that can seem very abstract to people who are still just struggling to get by?
Droughts made millions of Kenyans go hungry. Floods just in the city of Nairobi killed over 30 people. Nobody can persuasively tell any Kenyan that climate change is abstract. It is not.
Do you feel that the effort to coordinate global climate action has been effective?
It is generally acceptable now that countries like Kenya should be considered for financing. There was a time when we said this and it looked like a joke.
Does international collaboration on climate change work if the United States is rowing in the opposite direction?
Do you feel that the effort to coordinate global climate action has been effective?
It is generally acceptable now that countries like Kenya should be considered for financing. There was a time when we said this and it looked like a joke.
Does international collaboration on climate change work if the United States is rowing in the opposite direction?
I am very confident that the position of the United States, of China, of Europe, of Africa must come together at some point. We may disagree for a moment, we may disagree for a while, but reality is going to beat us into an agreement. The effects of climate change are in every continent. The only difference is that developed countries can cushion themselves.
Finland
This country has done something unusual: It has cut down on carbon emissions while growing its economy. Of course, it helps that the Finnish public is wildly supportive of government action on climate. Finland hopes to be carbon neutral by 2035, but it is still reliant on oil because of shipping fuel. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo describes a nation being transformed: The Arctic is warming nearly four times as fast as the global average, and arable land is moving north as remote regions thaw.
Is China becoming a more powerful partner to Finland with the retreat of the U.S. on clean energy?
We have to be careful. We have to get rid of dangerous dependencies, because we have to be autonomous in clean-energy production.
You’ve been working on this issue for many years now. What was the moment when you felt the most personal disillusionment about the politics around climate change?
You’ve been working on this issue for many years now. What was the moment when you felt the most personal disillusionment about the politics around climate change?
About five to 10 years ago, there was a debate in my own country over whether climate change is true or not. And because I believe it is, and I’m deeply worried about our world and our planet, that debate was frustrating. But we won. Today we have new technologies. We can change our behavior without cutting our welfare. We just have to believe that it’s possible, and we have to continue our work.
The Marshall Islands
This country, made from islands and reefs in the Pacific Ocean, is a few feet above sea level. Each year, the challenges grow. Mosquito-borne diseases have spread because of more frequent rainfall. Tuna — an economic backbone — are leaving for cooler parts of the Pacific. The water is rising. “We will be submerged by 2050 if the world doesn’t do its part,” says President Hilda Heine, who has spent her career sounding the alarm.
What do developed nations owe countries like the Marshall Islands?
The plan for elevating only two of our communities is projected to cost us billions. It’s a lot of money. I wish that the big emitters could step up and put money into that.
What specific steps are you taking in the Marshall Islands?
What specific steps are you taking in the Marshall Islands?
The warming of the ocean is killing our corals, which are building blocks of atoll nations. We are currently doing research to determine species of corals that can survive the warming ocean. We are building a fleet of ships that use wind and solar power to replace our fossil-fuel-run shipping fleet.
What are some of the changes your people have had to make?
What are some of the changes your people have had to make?
Seven years ago, Majuro had no sea walls. Now we build sea walls to protect homes and schools. I mean, we used to be able to just walk into the lagoon. Now you have to go over sea walls to get to the lagoon side or to the ocean side. The landscape is different.
Do you think your country will survive?
Do you think your country will survive?
As the leader of the Marshall Islands, I cannot take the view that we cannot survive.
Bangladesh
With a young population densely packed into a low-lying delta, rising sea levels and extreme heat are major problems. Agriculture is being disrupted. Populations are being displaced. After a popular uprising last year, the country installed Muhammad Yunus as the government’s chief adviser. Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for developing a way to give small loans to low-income people. He called it an example of the way small individual actions can produce widespread change, and he believes that the same is possible with climate.
How is Bangladesh experiencing climate change right now?
We have to make use of every little space we’ve got in order to feed ourselves. But not only is our land sinking into the ocean; the water system brings saline water into the land because of the tide. And salinity eats up our cultivable land. So sum total is our land is getting squeezed. It’s not a very happy situation.
How much do you think international efforts on climate action have succeeded?
How much do you think international efforts on climate action have succeeded?
We try to solve everything by pouring money into it. That’s not the solution. I’m saying I have to change myself. That’s how the world will change.
What do you think the developed countries that have historically been responsible for most global emissions owe a country like Bangladesh? All I can do is explain to them: “Look, this is our home. You start a fire in your part of the home, you suffer. But you do something to start a fire in my part of the house — this is not a fair thing to do. You are destroying the whole home. Our life depends on what you do.”
What do you think the developed countries that have historically been responsible for most global emissions owe a country like Bangladesh? All I can do is explain to them: “Look, this is our home. You start a fire in your part of the home, you suffer. But you do something to start a fire in my part of the house — this is not a fair thing to do. You are destroying the whole home. Our life depends on what you do.”
READ BORIGINAL STORY HERE
Comments