Capitalism is the one major climate sinner, and all ills of the globe could be cured, if it weren't for the capitalists. This reading of the world according to Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela.
In a show case press conference during the COP15 climate summit at Bella Center Chavez showed up on Friday afternoon, supported by a panel of Bolivian President Evo Morales, and representatives from the Nicaraguan, Cuban, and Ecuadorian governments. All representing Communist and Socialist countries. Or what you might call a counter-capitalist climate coalition. From Chavez to Morales the conclusions were absolutely clear: to combat climate change it would take a radical change of the capitalist economies. The argument was deforrestation by - Capitalist - international companies. And the remedy was a - Socialist - revolution.Paradoxical News was once again paradoxed - isn't China (and formerly the Soviet Union and its heavy industry model in developing countries) among the heavy polluting countries with heavy industry, coal firing, and the highest CO2 emissions? And so asked Hugo Chavez, but was immediately knocked out by numbers:
'You can't compare these countries. China has a population of 1,4 billion inhabitants, and the United States about 300 millions,' Chavez rebuffed PN, albeit in the most charming way (China population 1,334,790,000, and USA 308,188,000, according to Chinese and US Official Population clocks as of December 2009).
The logic being - if you outweigh others by numbers, you're simply not responsible. In particular if you're a Socialist nation, as the argument went. A follow up to his rebuff was complicated by a Teflon-like surface that repelled counter-questioning, and a swift moving on through the press crowd. In the most charming way, of course.