Green economy another buzzwords or green greed or what

Image credit: ecologiae

Lots of tall talks are going on around ‘green economy’; earth summit 2012 is about to launch the term in global platform. In this sacred ceremonial the event is attracting range of stakeholders from government, civil societies, and both for profit as well as non-profit entities. They call it global transition to a better world that will maximize well-being and better coping or adapting to environmental changes. This brand new economy may promote alternative model of sustainable development to societies across the world on the basis of three pillars such as social, environmental and economic. Actors joining this ceremony will be awash by green thoughts and back home to hold pillars of this new model. They will be building capacity, coalition, and forums based on the new economic foundation.  The advocates of green economy have learned from the past mistakes that the brown economy had danced to a different tune and could not fulfill the goal for environmental protection and human development.

Lucid dream out of green chaos is to see people on this planet living happy lives. They have lately recognized that GDP growth is a perverse idea because it could not reduce inequality or poverty. This new economic model is assumed to have all in one package available from one stop services, which could be accessible by visa card or MasterCard or even by PayPal account. New green deal offers low-carbon energy appliances, ‘carbon army’, packages of financial innovations, re-regulation of financial system and breaking up discredited ones. It offers safety nets to vulnerable but condition applies whether carbon taxes and revenues from carbon trading are in place. There is an overwhelming message along with the package offer that business as it is today will end up in catastrophic consequences, thus, we need to focus on ‘humane’ model that would make sure justice over natural resources and protect bio-diversity. They promise more and more skills, jobs, technologies, poverty free green societies, and sustainable development built on three pillars.

On the other side of this ‘new deal’, another group of activists is alarming people most particularly marginalized and farmers communities not to step into this new deal of green economy, as Christophe warns there may be, ”…an offensive to create new sources of profit and growth through the “Green Economy” agenda.” Alarm notes also include that Rio 1992 privileged industrialist nations and corporations with intellectual property rights over seeds and genetic resources. It assumed that this time Rio is going to put price tag on services and products that come from biodiversity and ecosystem. This group of activists is calling it “green capitalism”, which has a clear intention to introduce monetary value over services that we get free from nature coining the term ‘biodiversity conservation’, ‘climate regulation’ etc. Structural adjustment similar to 80s may haunt green economy to transform developing countries’ rich biodiversity into commodity. The euphoria of green economy appears to consider all problems on its way like climate crisis, inequality, poverty, failed state, jobless people, mad cows, pirates, bird flues, corrupt governance  as consequences of  ’market failure’ and a new formula for ‘solution to all problems’ could be provided through green market.

Widely known  arguments seemingly fail to convince international community anymore such as equitable distribution of wealth could reduce inequality and injustice, capability enhancement is the key to human development, egalitarian society could sustain peace and harmony, and sate parties must guarantee human rights to her citizens and rights are not commodities within a territory. Thus, tagging the idea of sustainable development into green economy by manipulating human crisis in the face of climate change, securing green deal with bit of manoeuvring, leveling barcode on natural offerings, abusing intellects to produce tons of papers in favor of such green business, and attracting overenthusiastic delegates from developing countries in this ceremony and use them to hold the pillars of green trade would end in mess. There is no trade-off between trade and justice.

A valuable guide for practitioner and development entities

“We live, learn and develop within three kinds of relationships: relationship with self, interpersonal relationships with people around us and external relationships with the rest of the world. Power is held in relationships, whether it is the struggle we have with ourselves to claim our inner power, or the power some have over others or the power we hold with others, or the power the State wields in relation to its citizens – without relationship power means little, it has no force, for bad or for good. If we want to shift power, we have to shift relationships.”  (barefootguide.org)

Energy poverty opposes right to livelihood, freedom, and capability

It is apparent that world along with its all poor and miserable nations are already in ‘energy poverty’ and heading faster for a dark age. While we are engaged fighting for right to livelihood and for Sen’s ‘capability-freedom’, energy poverty pushes us back to deeper trouble.

According to sources, nearly one-half of the global population – 3 billion people – live on less than $2 a day, and one fifth of the world population – 1.5 billion people – live in extreme poverty on less than $1 a day. During the past twenty-five years, electricity supplies have been extended to 1.3 billion people living in developing countries. Yet despite these advances, roughly 1.6 billion people, which is one-quarter of the global population, still have no access to electricity and some 2.4 billion people rely on traditional biomass, including wood, agricultural residues and dung, for cooking and heating. More than 99 percent of people without electricity live in developing regions, and four out of five live in rural areas of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. (The Baker Institute Energy Forum)

Energy and poverty links to each other passionately. There is no energy means there is no choice at all. Thus, there is no scope for capability to flourish as well. A trend is observed during last decade that millions of rural population migrated urban cities for livelihoods. Thus, ‘rural poverty’ transformed into ‘urban poverty’ and rural families become slum dwellers. In a country like Bangladesh where a population size of 5 to 10 million is ideal with respect to its size and resources; cities are overloaded by rural migrants desperately seeking ways out for livelihood. Hundreds and thousands of skilled and unskilled people are fighting disgracefully over limited resources. Corruption and crimes are the inevitable outcome of disgraceful fight among millions in the unjust societies without boarders. And the context is same for all developing nations with high density population and lack of resources along with manipulating weak-malnutrition governance.

Little innovations and alternative thinking for renewable energies are not that profound in these miserable nations in the world except some discrete private initiatives. Partly because they do not have much technical know how on alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal and whatever. On the other hand, their basic instinct for corruption is much favorable to deal with dirty energies such as oil, gas, coal, and so on. Billionaire transnational energy corporations just spray cheese at their temptation.

Mass people always appeared as some kind of scape goats or stupid slaves for the greedy rulers in the human history elsewhere in the world. The dream for right to livelihood, freedom, and capability remains as dream and turns into wishful thinking of philanthropists as well as good doers. Poor in the poor nations just work to exist for breads and taxpayers in the rich nations pay tax for the recovery of institutions out of bubbles burst. This negative reality has apparently become justified reality in the capital chase pool of monkeys raced by neo-liberal globalization.

Human rights based approach advocates for right to work, adequate house, education, health, and so on for minimum quality life, which could create enabling atmosphere to flourish capability and eventually bring freedom. While poor governments either consciously or subconsciously and persistently are unable to reach the desired level to offer her citizens with such freedom, energy poverty just adds more and more excuses to feel sorry for them or to prove their sustainable incapability.

The conventional energy is depleting like ‘splash of ash’ in the sky, nuclear energy is becoming dangerous to meet lust for power, alternative energies are in its infancy, which later giving rise of energy poverty besides widening gap between have and have not. Under such a reckless phase of time and space how longer we will be able to live with shattered dreams of right to livelihood, freedom and capability? The question haunts the daunting mind.

An example of community mapping in the post Tsunami’s Indonesia

This peace of video is an example of good practice at community level using  participatory mapping, which is motivational to look at how a community is reviving in the face of difficulties.

The documentary has been jointly produced by the Indonesia Community Mapping Network or Jaringan Kerja Pemetaan Partisipatif (JKPP), and the Center for people Economic Development or Yayasan Rumpun Bambu Indonesia (YRBI).

(Source: PPgis.net, Zunia)

TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT: MAKING CONNECTIONS, Edited by Pablo de Greiff and Roger Duthie

Developing societies emerging from conflict and authoritarianism are frequently beset by poverty, inequality, weak institutions and insecurity. The same countries are also often the scene of massive human rights violations, which leave in their wake victims who are marginalized – people who have strong claims to justice. Yet those who work to address the interconnected concerns of development and justice do not always work together to provide coherent responses to the needs of transitional societies.

Transitional Justice and Development: Making Connections examines the relationship between two fields that, academically and in practice, have proceeded largely isolated from one another. The book is the result of an ICTJ research project that brought together a diverse group of experts and practitioners to improve the dialogue between transitional justice and development and to explore ways of maximizing the synergies between the two fields. It is accompanied by a series of Research Briefs highlighting the most important findings of each of the book’s chapters.

TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT: MAKING CONNECTIONS