Climate of fear at Copenhagen

"Fear?" I hear you, the reader say with incredulity.
"Why fear? we think it is greed and self interest, not fear" You add.

However, I will stick to my guns - I will maintain that it is a climate of fear that is dictating the stalemate that has already happened after a mere 6 days of the Copenhagen climate change meet.

Why fear? Fear of what?

The oldest fear of "I'm willing to take specific action, but I'm afraid that others might not - therefore I will wait till everyone else agrees BEFORE taking any action"

You see what is happening?

The desire to take any action has been superseded by the desire to forge a consensus.

At this global summit nations should have been openly bringing out what they are doing or about to do to control climate change. They should be discussing the challenges that they are facing, political, financial, technological - all sorts of challenges. And therefore, this forum should be working towards creating a policy to help remove those challenges so that everyone can collaborate to a large extent.

Instead, another United Nations has been created with every nation having veto power.

Instead, all nations are rigidly arguing for the perceived interest of their people.

Forgetting that all citizens are facing this common threat, that no one is benefited by fine oratory, by political maneuvers that only increase the global gridlock.

Forgetting that the people that they claim to represent are willing to cooperate, willing to make changes, willing to make sacrifices.

Forgetting that the people sent them there for action - not for more talk.

So our global leaders are scared that they might make some stupid commitment that might cause them to loose power or the very fine administrative post that they hold.

Its OK to lose the world, but its not OK to lose power.

After all, the world is an intangible asset, whereas their positions of power are very very real.

I believe in simplicity.

I believe in the power of doing rather than talking.

I believe that if one or two brave leaders stand up and make specific, unilateral declarations, then it will act as a trigger for others to relinquish their hardened, narrow, self serving stands.

I believe that if some leaders put their mother earth above their nation, and far far above their own personal aspirations, the whole world will follow suit.