Translation: http://www.juancole.com/2009/12/wtf-ahmadinejad-making-sense-on-climate.html
Islamic Republic of Iran President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Friday, December 18, 2009
Here are the highlights: * He acknowledges global warming is real and man-made
This may seem like an incidental point, but let us remember another Copenhagen attendee was global-warming denier Jim Truth Squad Inhofe, whom a Der Spiegel reporter heroically dismissed as ridiculous. If only Oklahomans felt the same way. * He says the past two decades will reveal the dominance of materialism over thought, behavior and ties in vast parts of the world. The survival of capitalism depends on the rigorous spread of consumerism and widespread meddling in nature * And that, We all witnessed how [the West] created massive problems leading to the recent economic crisis by inventing 30 billion dollars of fake assets on paper and by fuelling consumption. Based on the materialistic perspective, maximum personal pleasure and profit is a strategic and fixed objective. * Ahmadinejad compares the Wests habits of promoting consumption, eliminating rivals, conquering global markets, monopolizing new technology and preventing nations from achieving self-sufficiency to the arms race and war.
Weapons, after all, are big business, and so their manufacturing and sales fit into — and in some cases drives — the global marketplace. * Energy and oil have been the basic and strategic factors in security and foreign policy of the American government for a century, as they also played similar roles in previous empires. During that time, oil-rich areas of the world have always been subjected to wars and military expeditions aimed at dominating energy resources.
Not that hes talking about any country in particular here. * America, with less than 5 per cent of the worlds population, consumes 25 per cent of the worlds oil and energy, more than 18 per cent of the worlds timber, and around 14 per cent of the worlds waters. Moreover, around 40 per cent of the worlds vehicles are on the move in that country * And These so-called industrialized countries are home to nearly 20 per cent of the worlds population but consume 85 per cent of the (worlds) energy and, as a consequence, create the most pollution. * Ahmadinejad manages to defend Irans nuclear enrichment program and to depict US opposition to it as an attempt to force the world to remain addicted to hydrocarbons.
On the wars: * It has been said that more than 250 billion dollars has been spent on the expedition to Afghanistan and around 1,000 billion dollars has been the cost of the war in Iraq. Wouldnt 50 billion dollars spent on Afghanistans infrastructure and economic development have turned this country into a developed country? And wouldnt 200 billion dollars on developing new technology and suitable use of fossil fuel have returned the pollution level to the period before industrialization? While the spread of greenhouse-gasses causes 1,000 times more silent deaths than the actions of terrorists, who are the most hated creatures, is it not true that all the objectives of the convention would be achieved with only half of Americas military budget? Is it not better to allocate part of the military budget of the leading nations to promote the peoples welfare and reduce pollution?
On alternative energy: * By abandoning this profit-oriented and monopolistic view, new technology, diverse sources of energy and also clean and renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, sea tide, geothermal and nuclear energy would become cheaply available to all countries, and they will not have to resort to the extensive use of low yielding fossil fuel. * In order to execute the budget in the best way possible and achieve the long-term objectives of the convention, countries should accept financial commitment to the world climate fund in proportion to their share of pollution in the past. And the resources of the fund should be distributed in a fair fashion and away from the control of the main polluters. Would it not be better to redirect the funds for the production and distribution of nuclear arms, through global disarmament, to the development of new technology, welfare and fight against poverty? We propose to designate the year 2011 as the year of rectifying consumption model and reducing pollution and suggest drawing up a plan to promote the culture of human values. * Ahmadinejad offers his, and Irans, support for the Kyoto Accords and the strengthening of this accord. * He proposes the establishment of a clean energy research and experience bank or a technology centre, which could transfer Irans research and experience to the Group-77 countries and China under the supervision of the secretariat of the convention.
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