The Deadly Challenge Of Climate Change and Nature Human Centric Vision

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The Deadly Challenge Of Climate Change

Began To Arise Only 250 Years Before

The UNIPCC report clearly states that the planet earth was pollution-free before the advent of capitalism some 300 years back. By1750, pollution began to appear. The expert reports point out that increase in Green Houses Gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitro-oxides) concentration, was primarily because of fossil fuel use and land use change. While the increase in carbon dioxide was due to fossil fuel use, the methane and nitro-oxides concentration was because of agriculture. In particular, the increase in carbon dioxide concentration from 280 ppm( part per million) in 1750 to 379 ppm in 2007 is far greater than the natural increase ( from 180ppm to 300ppm) over the last 650,000 years.

According to the scenario for the lowest stabilization level assessed by the IPCC, a long term goal in line with the latest science would include a peak in emissions in the next 10- 15 years and a decline of the emissions by 50% over 2000 levels by 2050. this would stabilize emissions at around 450 PPM Co2 eq in the atmosphere and correspond to a 2- 2.4C rise in temperature

Nature-Human Centric Vision

Nature-Human Centric Vision:-- The vision of Nature-Human Centric Peoples Movement to anticipate the future or coming events.

Nature-Human Centric Peoples Movement’s assessment is that it is going to be a highly challenging future. A look at 2050 shows that we shall be confronted with 5— fatal challenges.

1. The first one is challenge of global warming, the most deadly for the human community---- finishing it for ever.
2. The second one is increasing human population which will go up to 9.5 billion more than the 8 billion capacity of our planet earth.
3. The third one is agricultural crisis due to varying environmental and human factors. Decrease in the area of cultivation and disruption of agro-factors.
4. The fourth one is decrease in the availability of pure drinking water, causing human health crisis.
5. The fifth one is spread of fatal and irremediable diseases.

II What is the cause of these challenges ? it is the ongoing system which is capital based, market-led, individual or self-oriented and headed by the money equipped highly corrupt politicians.

III Then what is our task ? It is to mobilize the people against the ongoing system, its capitalist base, market priority and individual or self-orientation.

IV What is our alternative to this system? It is to establish Nature-Human oriented system, based on the following socially just principles.

V

Nature-Human Centric Immediate Agenda

Nature–human centric peoples movement (NHCPM) maintains that, given an all-embracing dreadful environmental-humanitarian global crisis, the world needs an immediate agenda corresponding to its existing ground realities.

The first ground reality of the world is the prevalence of a life or death challenge of climate change to all bio-phenomena on the earth.

Here, naturally the problem is as to who should organize the repairing work to climate damage. Since corporate sector is the creator of the climate change crisis and since all major corporate powers have so far failed to make a proper response to the environmental changes occurring in the past, it will be more appropriate that the present climate repairing task be handed over to the U N General Assembly instead of entrusting it over to the Security Council or G8 group or big Corporate Business Circles –all of which are dominated by corporate vested interests --- the real creators of the challenge of global warming or climate change. In the General Assembly, where the decisions are taken on the majority basis, there is little likelihood of the superpowers or rich nations domination. Each meeting of the UN General Assembly will elect its chairman from among its members and the UN Secretary General will act as the spokesman of the General Assembly.

The second ground reality of the world is the existence of various tension-points among different countries of the world. Here, the UN General Assembly should take the following steps.

The forging of a treaty of peace and friendship among all countries of the world, declaring that they will resolve all conflicts, big or small, between them through peaceful means.

The third ground reality of the world is the prevalence of various divisive and differenciated approaches and standpoints among different countries of the world, especially among the big powers, on the issues facing the world.

Here the task is to resolve all disputes in a peaceful way to establish a firm peace in the world, because world peace is the basic requirement to the challenge of climate change.

Further, every effort should be made to persuade countries to follow a foreign policy based on peace and friendship.

Here, the UN General Assembly should undertake to establish a firm peace in the world by taking the following steps: Peaceful resolution of all disputes in the world, particularly Jammu-Kashmir , Palestine, Sri Lanka, Dyfore, etc. In case of a just solution to Jammu-Kashmir problem, a joint Indo-Pak Condominium be entrusted to handle its (JK’s) defence, foreign affairs and currency. In all other matters, the different ethno-cultural and linguistic regions of Jammu Kashmir, including Pak-Administered Jammu-Kashmir, should have full-fledged self- rule. A similar type of just arrangement be worked out in the case of, Palestine, Dyfore, Sri lanka, etc.

The fourth ground reality of the world is the accumulated vast stock of nuclear weapons with the nuclear powers.

Here, the UN general Assembly should undertake to demand from the existing nuclear powers that, taking into consideration the life or death challenge of global warming, they should destroy all their nuclear stockpiles and other dangerous weapons of mass destruction immediately. And, in future, they should undertake not to produce any weapon of mass destruction.

The fifth ground reality of the world is the existence of large number of country-wise powerful armed forces who have no role to play in today’s world. Hence, the UN General Assembly should undertake to resolve all inter-country disputes existing in the world within a period of six months. Following the completion of the fore-going task, the UN General Assembly should ask all countries to stop spending on their military budgets.

Again, all countries should stop 50% of their defence expenditure within two years and the next 50% within 5 years.

All demobilized defence personnel be provided equivalent jobs on the pay scales they were previously having in the defence department.

The sixth ground reality is the existence of a national development model specific to each country. Here, the UN General Assembly should set up a high-powered UN Sustainable Development Council to act as global authority by intergrating all the national development models for combating global warming and conservation and promotion of the environmental resources, on the one hand, and the development of human resources, on the other. The council should enact fundamental international reforms in regard to environment and human advancement. The finance for the council will come from global taxation, such as global trade, use of natural resources like oil, coal, communication satellites, air travel, Antarctica mining, sea-bed mining, oceanic transportation, etc; the UN General Assembly will devise the scheme for the distribution of the said global revenues between the UN and the member states in which the least developed countries will be given special consideration.

The seventh ground reality is the prevalence of an unfair trade between the developed and the under-developed countries. Here, the WTO should act as a centre to see that the trade between rich and poor countries is conducted on a fair basis.

The eighth ground reality is the requirement of finance by the less developed countries. Here, the IMF and the world Bank should be on guard that there is a fair distribution of finance among various categories of countries.

The ninth ground reality is the developing water crisis in various parts of the world. Here, a new World Water Commission be set up by the UN to arrange the supply of minimum needed water to the people in the various water scarcity areas.

The tenth ground reality is that, taking into consideration the possibility of decreasing food production, the UN should request the FAO to formulate a food policy that takes practical steps to provide foodstuffs to all food deficit areas.

The eleventh ground reality is to improve and update agriculture to meet the food requirements of the world people. Here, the whole farming community in different countries be motivated to organize agriculture on the co-operative basis.

The twelfth ground reality is the worsening state of poverty in various countries, especially the under-developed ones. Here, there is need to take practical steps to deal with the poverty problem as a priority issue.

The thirteenth ground reality is that all countries must focus to eradicate the ever-increasing social evils like, crime, corruption, lack of sanitation, housing, old-age security, etc., on a just basis.

The fourteenth ground reality is to pay serious attention to the issue of human rights violations in almost all countries of the world.

The fifteenth ground reality is that the educational system should aim at developing the humanitarian-cum-environmental values among the students and not concentrate on developing the instinct of individualistic personality-cult among them as is being done today.

The sixteenth ground reality is the worsening state of human health. Here, a proper response is the acceptance of human health as a fundamental right by all countries.

The seventeenth ground reality is the existence of a threat from religious fundamentalism or terrorism which, in our view, should be countered not through military means but with humanitarian and environmental values.

The eighteenth ground reality is that unemployment problem in every region, whether it is developed or underdeveloped, is increasing fast. The slow pace of job creation even in countries with relatively high growth rates has left 500 million unemployed or underemployed in a region with a total labour force of 1.7 billion. In the 1980s, the ADB study calculates, it took a 3%growth rate in China to induce 1% increase in employment, compared to the 8% growth rate that was required to achieve the same result the following decade. This demands that new working avenues be explored in the vast domain of worsening environmental sector.

The nineteenth ground reality is the persistent continuation of the problem of burgeoning world population which is as threatening as the challenge of climate change. According to expert reports, the present growth-rate of population will result in a situation where the entire land area of the world will be required to accommodate 9.2 billion people by the year 2050. The solution lies in establishing a rational and just society which ensures social security to all, weakening the motivation of having blood descendants as a guarantee against old age or some other insecurity.

Last, but the most important, ground reality is that people on our planet are the single-most force and the only source to bring any change on our planet and to save bio-life on this earth. And the people can play a positive role only if they are properly organized on the basis of a clear, just, fair and rational model. Such a needed model, in our view, may be found in the NHCPM (Nature-Human Centric Peoples Movement) agenda comprising, in brief, the following

Firstly, the most important thing in society is the people and natural resources and nothing else. While the corporate capitalism falsifies that only capital is the most precious thing in society.

Secondly, it is first of all necessary to uphold the fundamental human task of environmental (i.e., air, water, land, forest, bio-diversity, etc) sustainability at all times and places

Thirdly, our next principle is the all-round constitutional empowerment of the people.

A) Economic Empowerment : the people should be empowered economically by ensuring social security to every one as a fundamental right with regard to clean air , pure-drinking water, nutritious food, housing, clothing and free health facilities and education, etc.

Fair equality based on 1:5 income difference in order to bring economic harmony among the extremely divided categories of a handful of rich and the vast majority of poor people.

B) Political Empowerment: Political process be headed by the people and conducted through the dedicated social workers ( or their front); the election be entirely free where every one has the right to participate as a candidate and as a voter.

Ending of state power monopoly of the corrupt and money and power hungry political parties by introducing the rule of the state funding of elections to each individual candidate.

All development funds to be spent through elected peoples development committees (including the Gram Sabhas and not above that), abrogating the current rule of allotting crores of rupees to each MP and lakhs of rupees to each M L A for development spending in their constituencies.

People should be empowered to recall any assembly or Parliament member if 1/5^th of voters demand in writng. The political parties should get their candidates sponsored from the people before contesting any election. People’s sponsored candidate can be one who gets one thousand signatures of his electors in t5he assembly and five thousands in the parliamentary elections.

C) Cultural Empowerment stands for a way of life (life-style) which is embedded in basic human and environmental values and promotes rational humanist and environmentalist thinking, behaviour and organization among the people.

D) Empowerment Of Women by giving them 50% reservations in the parliament, assemblies and administration ,plus jobs in the organized big industry. Gradually. this principle should become a rule to be applied in all social, economic and cultural spheres.

E) Workers Empowerment: in the organized sector, concerned workers organizations, united within a single workers front, to have 1/3^rd representation in the management board of all types of big industry, institutions, projects and factories. In small and medium industries, concerned workers elected forums should be entitled to act as consultation boards to the each concerned management.

F) Empowerment Of Informal Labour: in the retail sector, all workers engaged in small scale private trade should be organized into unions at all places ( i.e., cities, towns and countryside) and provided cheap credit, all types of free market facilities, free trawlers to move from one place to another or free of rent small shops in big city markets.

G) Empowerment Of Farmers: in the rural sector, the entire peasantry, the rich farmers as well as the landless peasants be organized on the basis of co-operative farming as the fundamental policy of the state. Each such co-operative be provided necessary govt help to develop its own market mechanism, procure its required agricultural inputs at cheap rates and build its credit system with the help of loans from the co-operative credit agencies.

Promoting the fundamental human task of justice, equality and fairness in all walks of life.

I.) Democratization of all industrial and services sectors by ending their corporate and state monopoly control and managing them through ordinary share-holders (2/3^rd representation) and workers, (with 1/3^rd representation).

j.) Finance management: while the corporate sector upholds the monopoly corporate management and control and the state sector supports the monopoly bureaucratic management and control, the nature-human centric development model stands for democratic management and control of public companies by elected joint committees, each comprising 2/3^rd elected members from ordinary share-holders and 1/3^rd elected workers representatives in place of permanent corporators. All promoters shares purchased at cheaper rates (than market rates) and owned by corporate management be ended.

k). Jurisprudence to be based on the fundamental principle of safe- guarding and protecting the interests of environmental and human resources. Any disregard of the foregoing principle to be dealt with the aim of reforming the offender, while prescribing punishment according to the severity of the offence. Punishment may include all human forms that have existed in history except the sentence to death.

VI

Nature-Human Centric Short Term Agenda

The Nature-Human Centric Peoples Movement (NHCPM) holds that the human community at the present juncture is confronted with a highly dangerous environmental –humanatarian crisis. The challenge is so serious that, if it is not answered by a realistic agenda, the consequences can be very very harmful for the humanitarian cause. Such a grave situation, first of all, needs a complete unity among the different segments of humankind. And the factor of unity demands the ending of all types of conflicts within the human community. The only way to achieve human unity and the ending of all types of conflicts within the human community lies in eliminating all sorts of existing injustice in the world.

The NHCPM is of the view that a justice-based world is quite possible on the foundation of an all-inclusive social justice and this requires the restructuring of the existing unjust corporate system.

To restructure the existing unjust corporate system on a just basis, the NHCPM puts forth the following 15 points for public information, association and action. It requests all those who accept the rationality of these points to propagate them determinedly, steadfastly and wholeheartedly before the people

Whenever and wherever elections become due in any region or the country as a whole, it appeals to the voters to make these 15 principles as yardstick to ascertain the genuineness of their contesting candidates by requesting them to put their signatures in support of these just points. Those who sign deserve the voters support, while anyone shirking to do so is obviously devoid of a just and rational approach.

1) Upholding the fundamental human task of environmental (i.e., air, water, land, forest, bio-diversity, etc) sustainability at all times and places.

2) Human right of existence ensured through social security as a fundamental right with regard to clean air, pure-drinking water, nutritious food, housing, clothing and free health facilities and education

3) Human right of fair equality based on 1:5 income-difference.

4) Peaceful resolution of all disputes in the world, particularly Jammu Kashmir and Palestine, Sri Lanka, etc. In case of a just solution to Jammu Kashmir problem, a joint Indo-Pak Condominium be entrusted to handle its (J K’s) defence and foreign affairs. In all other matters ( except defence and foreign affairs), J K should have independence, while each of its 9 ethnic regions be given maximum-possible autonomy. A similar type of just arrangement be worked out in case of Israel, Palestine and Sri Lanka also.

5) Restructuring of the world order by ending the veto-powers of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council and by giving absolute power of deciding any issue to the UN general assembly on the basis of a simple majority vote.

6) Restructuring of WTO, WB and IMF on the basis of substituting their free market perspective by nature-human centric perspective and their development strategy favouring money and money-owners by the nature-human centric development strategy, comprising two top priorities, i.e., Man and Environment and Nature-Human Centric 5 principles, i. e., environmental sustainability, equity, productivity, people-led democracy and all-sided transparency.

7) Women’s empowerment, ensuring their 50% representation in all social institutions at all levels.

8) Co-operative farming, ensuring the livelihood security of all concerned.

9) Labour-both physical (or blue collar) and mental (or white collar) –empowerment, ensuring workers 1/3rd elected representation in the management of all institutions, projects and factories.

10) Democratization of all industrial and services sectors by ending their corporate and state monopoly control and managing them through ordinary share-holders (2/3rd representation) and workers, (with 1/3rd representation).

11) Finance management: while the corporate sector upholds the monopoly corporate management and control and the state sector supports the monopoly bureaucratic management and control, the nature-human centric development model stands for democratic management and control of public companies by elected joint committees, each composing 2/3rd elected members from ordinary share-holders and 1/3rd elected workers representatives in place of permanent corporators. All promoters shares be purchased at cheaper rates (than market rates) and owned by corporate management be ended.

12) Political process be headed by the people and conducted through the dedicated social workers ( or their front); the election be entirely free where every one has the right to participate as candidate and as a voter.

13) Ending of state power monopoly of the corrupt and money and power hungry political parties by introducing the rule of the state funding of elections to each individual candidate ( who is required to produce one thousand signatures of his electors in assembly and five thousand in Parliament elections), without any consideration to his party affiliation. Concerned voters right to recall any assembly or Parliament member if 1/5th of voters demand in writing a re-poll on the ground that the afore-mentioned member has lost the confidence of his electorate.

14) All development funds to be spent through elected peoples development committees ( including the village committees and not above that), abrogating the current rule of allotting crores of rupees to each MP and lakhs of rupees to each M L A for development spending in his constituency.

15) Jurisprudence to be based on the fundamental principle of safe-guarding and protecting the interests of environmental and human resources. Any disregard of the foregoing principle to be dealt with the aim of reforming the offender, while prescribing punishment according to the severity of the offence. Punishment may include all human forms that have existed in history except the sentence to death.

VII

Nature-Human Centric Long Term Agenda

The Nature-Human Centric Peoples Movement is of the view that the basic solution to the ongoing deadly crisis resides in the replacement of present Corporate Capitalist System by the Nature-human Centric System whose objective, principles, styles and organization stands for two top priorities, i.e., environment and man and which follows five basic principles: i.e., environmental promotion, fair equality (i.e., social security to every deprived and needy person and the rationalization of irrational income differences in the proportion of 1:5), productivity (or growth-rate), peoples-led democracy ( i. e., empowerment of the people in place of corporate capital supported political parties and business circles) and all-sided transparency. The main points of Nature-Human Centric System comprise as under.

1. Nature-Human Centric Model of human society holds environment and humankind as the 2 most precious phenomena in human society, considers the two as its social capital (supreme thing in human society) whose (i.e., environmental-human resources) growth brings development, prosperity and progress and maintains them as its guiding principle in thinking, saying, doing and organizing.

2.It strongly advocates the fundamental task of environment (i.e., air. water. Land, forests, bio-Diversity, etc.) promotion at all times and places

3. It maintains the fundamental right of every human to bio-social existence, ensured through a network of social security with regard to clean air, pure-drinking water, nutritious food, housing, clothing, free health facilities and education.

4. It stands for fundamental human right of fair equality, based on 1:5 income differences.

5. It firmly upholds the principle of world peace and steadfastly follows the path of peaceful resolution of all disputes in the world, particularly Jammu-Kashmir, Palestine and Sri Lanka, etc. In the case of a just solution of Jammu-Kashmir problem, it advocates that a joint Indo-Pak Condominium be entrusted to handle its (JKs) defence, foreign affair and currency, in all other matters, JK should have independence, while each of its 9 ethnic regions be given maximum-possible autonomy. A similar type of just arrangement be worked out in case of Israel, Palestine and Dyfore also.

6. It demands the restructuring of the world order by ending the veto-powers now enjoyed by the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council and by giving the absolute power of deciding any issue to the UN General Assembly on the basis of a simple majority vote. In due course, UN be restructured on the basis of a constitution framed by a constituent assembly elected by the people from various constituencies in the world.

7. It argues for the restructuring of WTO, WB and IMF on the basis of substituting their free market economic perspective by Nature-Human Centric Perspective and their (i.e., WTO, WB and IMF) development strategy favouring money and money-owners by a Nature-Human Centric development strategy, comprising two top priorities, i.e., human and environmental, and 5 principles. i.e., environmental promotion, fair equality, productivity, peoples-led democracy and all-sided transparency.

8. It champions the women’s cause and demands their empowerment, ensuring them 50% representation in all social institutions at all levels.

9. It promotes the organizing of agriculture on co-operative basis, ensuring the livelihood security of all concerned.

10. It forcefully speaks for labour (both physical and mental) empowerment, ensuring workers 1/3^rd elected representation in the management of all institutions, projects and factories.

11. It pleads for the decentralization of all industrial and services sectors by ending their corporate and state monopoly control and managing them through ordinary shareholders (with 2/3^rd representation) and workers (with 1 /3^rd representation).

12. It proposes for a democratic management and control of finance. While the corporate sector upholds the monopoly corporate management and control and the state sector supports the monopoly bureaucratic management and control, the Nature-Human Centric Development Model stands for democratic management and control of public companies by elected joint committees, each comprising 2/3^rd elected members from ordinary share-holders and 1/3^rd elected workers representatives in place of permanent corporators. All promoters’ shares purchased at cheaper rates (than the market rates) and owned by the corporate management be ended.

13. It encourages the spending of all development funds through elected peoples development committees (including the village committees and not above that), abrogating the current rule of allotting crores of rupees to each MP and lakhs of rupees to each MLA for development spending in their respective constituencies.

14. It proposes the restructuring of corporate capitalist oriented constitution and jurisprudence in each country on the basis of Nature-Human Centric Outlook.

15. It strongly favours the fundamental principle of safeguarding and protecting the interests of environmental and human resources. Any disregard of the foregoing principle to be dealt with the aim of reforming the offender, while prescribing punishment according to the severity of the offence. Punishment may include all humane forms that have existed in history except the sentence to death and human cruelty.

16. It firmly believes that all the constituent processes of human society, i.e., environmental, human and scientific-technological be controlled and conducted by the people.

17. It propounds the empowerment of people (or people-led governance) at five levels from the village/ward to national scale, with block, district and state categories in between, each enjoying powers to manage the three basic facets of social life – political, economic and cultural in its respective domain.

18. The process of empowerment be decided through the method of elections which will be entirely free where everyone has the right to participate as a candidate and to express his opinion as a voter. It urges for ending the state power monopoly of the corrupt and money and power-hungry political parties by introducing the rules of the state funding of elections of each individual candidate (who is required to produce one thousand signatures of his electors in state assembly and five thousand in central assembly elections), without any consideration to his party affiliation. Concerned voters right to recall any assembly member if 1/5^th of voters demand in writing a repoll on the ground that the afore-mentioned member has lost the confidence of his electorate.

19. Political aspect demands the establishment of Political Assembly at 5 levels: (i.e., national, state (or regional), district, block and village) which stands for a democratic order and is based on fully democratic principles, functioning and structure. Such a model necessitates the introducing of the principles of the maximum-possible empowerment of the people in decision-making.

20. Economic aspect needs the establishment of development assembly at 5 levels for a rational and realistic economics whose concepts, laws and rules are required to be framed in the light of former’s 2 top priorities (i.e., humankind and environment) and 5 guiding principles (i.e., environmental promotion. Fair equality, productivity. Peoples-led democracy and all sided transparency). In view of human’s bio-social nature, both Adam smith’s basic economic principle of “self-interest” and Marxian basic economic principle of “state nationalization of every thing” are one-sided. But. Ironically both measure development, prosperity and progress in terms of monetary growth and not in the context of human and environmental development.

21. Cultural aspect requires establishment of cultural assembly at 5 levels that calls for a way of life (or life-style) that is embedded in basic human and environmental values and promotes rational humanist and environmentalist thinking, behavior and organization among the people.

22. The political, development and cultural Assemblies at 5 levels elect their respective political, development and cultural commissions of specialists to implement the agendas and policies framed by them (i.e., Assemblies). The commission of political specialists may deal with political issues like law and order, crime prevention, judicial working; the commission of development specialists may handle economic-financial matters like development planning, agriculture, industry, services. Finances and budget and the Commission of cultural specialists attend to education, science, technology, health, moral ethical-values and other cultural subjects, like languages, music, dancing, cine-industry, etc.

23. Every elected body, whether at the lower or the higher level will be sovereign within its respective domain. If at any time there is a difference of opinion between the two elected bodies or public institutions, the concerned units’ will appoint their respective representative groups to settle the concerned question through talks. If the matter is mutually settled, that will be accepted as a valid decision. In case the two cannot agree on a common decision, the matter will be got resolved through a referendum of the concerned people.

24 It maintains that the question of internal security of any territorial unit will be handled by the people concerned. The issue of border defence of different territorial units will be conducted by the defence agency formed by the concerned people according to the rules approved by the UN.

25 It will forbid every polluting technology, however productive capacity it may have, to operate in society.

VIII

To Sum Up

Where will the non-implementation of the above said Nature-Human Centric Agenda lead to is shrouded in the womb of natural mystery.

Compiled and edited by

Late R P Saraf

(1924 - 2009)

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