Wealthy Nations To Poor Ones: There Will Be No Reparations For Killing the Plane

[Guest guest]

http://tns.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/wealthy-nations-poor-ones-there-will\

\

-be-no-reparations-killing-planet

 

Wealthy Nations To Poor Ones: There Will Be No Reparations For Killing the

Planet

Posted Tue, 12/15/2009 - 17:56

A Black Agenda Radio report by Glen Ford

 

Even as the world approaches " the end-game of human existence, " brought on by

centuries of exploitation of nature and man, the chief polluters and oppressors

demand impunity from past and current crimes. The U.S. categorically rejects the

" notion " of payback for global warming.

Wealthy Nations To Poor Ones: There Will Be No Reparations For Killing the

Planet

A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

" Those who profited so richly from the human and environmental disasters they

inflicted are guilty of depraved indifference – crimes against nature and their

own species. "

For the moment, forget about the lofty rhetoric spouted by the 100 heads of

state gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, including the carefully crafted words of

President Barack Obama. As far as the Lords of Capital are concerned, the

conference isn't really about mitigating the unfolding climatic catastrophe, the

facts of which are well known. The real object of the Copenhagen conference is

to determine who gets the power to shape the developmental model of the planet

over the next half century.

With continued U.S. global supremacy in mind, the chief American negotiator

attempted to set the terms of debate early on, rejecting out of hand any notion

that the United States owes reparations to poor nations for its huge

contribution to global warming over the last couple of centuries. " For most of

the 200 years since the Industrial Revolution, " said U.S. diplomat Todd Stern,

" people were blissfully ignorant of the fact that emissions caused a greenhouse

effect. " Ignorant or not, the industrialized nations of Europe and the United

States were certainly blissful about the profits they made at the expense, not

only of the Earth's material resources, but also from the super-exploitation of

the non-white peoples of the world. The two exploitations – of human beings and

nature – are historically inseparable, like the conquest of the America's and

the death of 90 percent of the western hemisphere's inhabitants; like the rape

of Africa's resources and the enslavement of its people. These are the twin

pillars of a 500-year project to elevate a small percentage of the world's

population to global supremacy at the expense of everyone else, and of the

planet, itself. At the very least, those who profited so richly from the human

and environmental disasters they inflicted along the way, are guilty of depraved

indifference – crimes against nature and their own species.

" The real object of the Copenhagen conference is to determine who gets the power

to shape the developmental model of the planet over the next half century. "

Even as they plead ignorance – and, therefore, innocence – of past crimes, these

same Euro-American powers are determined to remain on top under conditions of

global warming.

That's why the Americans, in particular, are attempting to create a New World

Industrial Order without a treaty that will bind both large powers and weaker

ones under an enforceable contract. Capital, centered in the West, seeks to

extend its power deep into the 21st century based on the rule of money. That's

why the United States resists efforts to build on and strengthen the Kyoto

Treaty on global warming, which the United States has never ratified. And that's

why a delegate to the Copenhagen conference from Mali said, last week, that " the

killing of the Kyoto Protocol...will mean the killing of Africa. "

The United States prefers that rich nations contribute a relatively puny amount

of money – starting off with $10 billion or less – as " aid " to the developing

world, and that the rich nations exercise controls over how developing countries

spend these funds. It is nothing less than an effort to turn a global nightmare

to the advantage of the United States. At the same time, the Americans are busy

trying to cut their own separate deal with China, one they hope will make the

U.S. and Chinese economies symbiotic for the next 40 or 50 years, and to hell

with the rest of the planet. We are witnessing disaster capitalism being played

out, even as we enter the possible end-game of human existence. For Black Agenda

Radio, I'm Glen Ford. On the web, go to www.BlackAgendaReport.com.