Tuesday 13 December 2011

fennec fox

The United Nation’s climate summit that just concluded in Durban, South Africa faced some enormous challenges in trying to recapture the concrete results and spirit of cooperation of the Kyoto Protocols of two decades ago. Some progress was made, I think, during this last session but it remains to be seen if these agreed upon goals will be enough to staunch environmental irreversible change. I admire the European Union’s determination to take a leading role and maintain reduction targets, even among disheartening divisions, and China for, with some significant reservations, moves towards stewardship and sustainability that will potentially upstage everyone. It was discouraging to hear that Canada for financial reasons has decided also to break ranks, since any gains would be undone by the profligate actions of the world’s biggest polluters and developing nations. It’s especially poignant, and I didn’t notice the symbol until after all was said and done, as the UN, I think, choose to hold the summit under the good auspices of Durban with a reference to Antoine de Saint-Exupรฉry’s Little Prince--the baobab tree taking up the whole planet, as the trees would do to the Little Prince’s little home world without pruning.  The Little Prince had more than one world to explore, however, singular domains and ruled by different potentates.  The allegory is a bit inverted but probably apt for the struggle and squabbling over responsibilities for what belongs to everyone.