[Editorial] Time for a revolution to combat global warming

They say that by the end of the current century, it is possible the earth’s surface will rise by 1.1 to 6.4 degrees Celcius and that the oceans could rise as much as 59 centimeters. The global warming phenomenon is "very likely" to be the result of humanity’s emission of greenhouse gases. So says a report issued last weekend by the United Nations’ Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It warns that if we continue to be a society that consumes large amounts of fossil fuels, we are headed for calamity. If temperatures rise on average of three degrees, between one and four billion people are going to suffer from a lack of adequate water, and there are going to be between 150 and 200 million "environmental refugees." The global temperature is going to rise 0.1 degrees every ten years, even if greenhouse gas emissions stay frozen at 2000 levels, because nature just cannot keep up anymore. The report is being called a historic landmark for being able to put an end to the long debate about the true causes of global warming.

This is an official U.N. report, so it will be followed up with international agreements and points of action. The U.N. Secretary-General has called for a special summit on the issue, and the governments of France and Italy have called for the establishment of a special U.N. organization to cope with the matter. In the United States as well, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has called on president George W. Bush to adhere to the obligations of existing policy. Industry is showing an interest in the problem, as well, with large international companies like Exxon-Mobile and Dupont announcing how they are going to respond.

You can already see the influence of climate warming in Korea. An easy example would be how we are experiencing one of the warmest winters in a century. By the end of the current century, Tokyo and Manhattan might be underwater, but instead of worrying about the country’s coastlines, Korea is pouring its resources on reckless development projects like the land reclamation project at Saemangeum. In the meantime, Korea doesn’t have any long-term policy or strategy for tackling the many problems poised to confront agriculture and Korean exports. Leave it to the Korean government to desperately want to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), that club for the rich, but then once accepted become noncommittal about its obligations and ask for exemptions and deferments.

"The more you know about the problem, the more serious you realize it is. But it’s still not too late," says one environmental group. French president Jacques Chirac says the time is ripe for a "revolution." Korean society needs to ponder words such as these.

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