At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), held on November 12, a landmark agreement was reached on the UN-led carbon credit market, aimed at regulating and trading permissions for carbon emissions.
The initiative, designed to curb global carbon emissions, was hailed by many as a significant step in tackling climate change. However, it has also sparked criticism from some global leaders who view Western-led environmental policies with skepticism.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed reservations about the agenda, accusing Western powers of leveraging environmental initiatives as a form of “neocolonialism.”
“Western powers that long have polluted Earth’s atmosphere with their industries are now trying to force their so-called green agenda on Russia,” Putin said, arguing that the approach serves as an instrument to extend Western influence.
Come Carpentier de Gourdon, geopolitical analyst and editor of World Affairs journal, shared Putin’s concerns. He highlighted that developing nations face increased pressure from wealthier countries, ostensibly in the name of reducing pollution.
However, he suggests that these measures often serve “economic and strategic” objectives. “Most countries, particularly developing countries, do face increasing pressure from the more influential powers in the name of making the world a better place by cutting down on pollution,” de Gourdon said.
He argued that while calls to reduce carbon emissions may seem fair, the West sometimes uses environmental initiatives to restrain growth in emerging economies.
“They can also impose some technologies which are not necessarily very practical or economically viable on poorer countries,” he said, pointing to renewable energy sources like wind and solar as examples. “Renewable energy…is not always sufficient to provide reliable power to relatively highly populated countries.”
De Gourdon also noted the additional costs of adopting Western environmental standards, such as the push for electric vehicles, which he says places a financial burden on developing nations. “There is an additional burden that is being placed on the population and on the governments of developing countries,” he noted.
De Gourdon argues that portraying climate change solely as a result of human activity oversimplifies the issue, asserting it’s a natural, cyclical phenomenon. He believes adjusting industrial and economic policies alone won’t stop climate change.
Instead, he suggests that BRICS nations could develop innovative energy production and distribution methods to support independent energy generation globally, aiming to boost scientific progress and provide sustainable alternatives for developing countries.
Source: Sputnik