Climate Change

By Alex Freundlich
Boston University Law School

Although I was upset that the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference was held in the midst of finals, I managed to follow the Conference during some well-deserved study breaks. As someone who follows environmental justice issues, I was disappointed, but not surprised that the international community failed to reach a binding accord to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Not all hope is lost. Some of the language in the Copenhagen Accord is promising: the Accord sets targets to lower greenhouse gas emissions and sets out a goal to raise $100 billion to help developing countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

One Talmudic verse highlights the problem: "A certain man was removing stones from his ground on to public ground when a pious man found him doing so and said to him, 'Fool, why do you remove stones from ground which is not yours to ground which is yours?' The man laughed at him. Some days later he had to sell his field, and when he was walking on that public ground he stumbled over those stones. He then said, 'How well did that pious man say to me, "Why do you remove stones from ground which is not yours to ground which is yours?"' (Baba Kamma 50b)

When the man later needed to use the public ground, he realized the error of his ways: he would not have those stones on the public ground if, say, he had to pay a monetary penalty for his actions.

But how does this Talmudic verse apply to the environmental issues of our day? Today, every country in the world depends on carbon-based energy to some extent. Nearly every country uses carbon-energy as its primary energy source. The reality is that carbon-based energy is, and has been, cheaper than clean, renewable sources of energy. Take China as an example. China is the largest consumer of coal power in the world. About 68.7% of China’s energy supply comes from coal. The Chinese government has set high goals for economic growth, aggressively pursuing a strategy of rapid industrialization. Because coal power is cheaper than renewable, clean sources of energy, the Chinese government has relied on coal power to ensure that a greater amount of the country’s capital goes to expanding its economic growth. China is experiencing the benefits of its economic policies, but, similar to the man who removed the stones from "his ground" to the public grounds, China has already begun to experience the negative effects of its "growth first" strategy. In many Chinese cities, the air quality is unbearable and is having a drastic impact on the health of Chinese citizens. When we look at the amount of carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions coming from China and every country in the world, we can begin to realize the negative effects that these emissions will have. These emissions have and will continue to impact our health and our planet’s health. We might be experiencing the benefits of cheap energy now, but it is becoming increasingly apparent that the long-term costs of our actions greatly outweigh the short-term economic benefits we have received from polluting our planet.

Without a binding agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions, many countries will continue to emit greenhouse gases; the immediate economic benefits are simply too lucrative. It is important to realize the implications of our Talmudic verse: with a binding international agreement that accounts for the real cost of greenhouse gas pollutants, countries will move towards adopting cleaner energy. The international community needs to adopt a binding international agreement as soon as possible.

Alex Freundlich is a law student at Boston University. Alex has interned at Hazon, North America’s largest Jewish environmental group. During his time as a Legislative Associate and member of the board directors for the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), Alex worked as an advocate for the environment.

[Posted 1/15/10]