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---This is an extract of the keynote speech that Dominique Baudis, President of the Institute for the Arab World, gave in Taipei on October 4th, at a conference organized by the Ricci Institute and the Taipei County Government.
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The role of local communities and cities
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Intricately linked to the industrial revolution, the development of cities was initially confined to the Western world before it spread to the entire planet: the majority of the world's population now lives in urban areas versus only 14% in 1900. This is not necessarily bad news: in fact, the city, say many analysts, can become a privileged place in the fight against climate change; the streamlining the system of transportation, water sanitation , energy distribution provide already evidences of it. The experimental construction of "green buildings" that produce the energy they consume is another step forward. The city is also a place of maximum flow of information, inventions, collective discussion, and can generate a number of innovative measures. Much will depend therefore on the urban dweller himself, on the moral environment that policy makers forge for him and on the collective conscience that he will develop. In this regard, the role of locally elected officials is essential. When I was mayor of Toulouse I had to fight to impose an innovative system of underground transportation, because I firmly believed that this technical solution would make our streets less congested and our atmosphere much cleaner. The result has proved that this was indeed the case, and objections were finally totally overcome. The development of downtown, the connections between downtown and suburbs, the method of garbage collection and recovery, the renovation of the systems of water sanitation... Each time, these issues prove to be partly technical, partly political, for it is always necessary to challenge vested interests and viewpoints so as to build a city at once more hospitable, more balanced and more human. The duty of locally elected officials is to introduce clearly the choices and issues at stake, giving people information and criteria that will allow them to understand, taking into account the diversity of their viewpoints, how to meet the "general interest". My local experience has taught me that it is always right to trust in the ability of the citizens to ponder collective choices and discuss them. It is through local democracy that will emerge responsible, compact and united cities, carrying an innovative environmental project.
The search for the general good can sometimes take the form of local referenda, provided that the issue at stake is clearly formulated and phrases out a real choice. Without doubt this is a good way to settle in difficult situations, when the fight against global warming requires sacrifices (use of automobiles, water prices, choice of such investment rather than another ...) It is up to the citizens then duly informed, to state the scale of their priorities and their values… and to draw the consequences of them.
The Arab world and the search for a global partnership against the effects of global warming
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Let me now turn to resources that can provide the international community with full and active inclusion of the Arab world in the fight against global warming. Let me start with a quote, borrowed from Montgomery Watt:
"When we realize the extent of the areas that Arabs embraced in their scientific experiments, their thoughts and writings, we see that without the Arabs, science and European philosophy would not have developed as they have done. The Arabs did not simply transmit Greek thought, they were the true successors of this tradition […] At the time, around the year 1100, when Europeans became interested in the science and philosophy of their Saracen enemies these disciplines had reached their peak. The Europeans had to learn from them anything that could then be learned before they could turn to advance by themselves…"
This means that there exists in the Arab world a directory of wisdom and of scientific and technological knowledge that must be mobilized when it comes to rethink the relationship between man and his environment. In addition, though the Arab world is not limited to Islam, this religion makes itself the vast majority of the people living in the area, and Islam has on the subject that concerns us today an original philosophical and theological reflection. Its focal point probably lies in the fundamental principle of unity (tawhîd), which relies on both a strict monotheism and affirmation of the ultimate unity of all components of creation. Man is thus invited to participate fully in the social and natural world by holding true to his own nature. The life of the individual and those of society and nature can not be separated.
Man, says Islam, exerts "vice-regency" (al-khilâfa) on the earth and its creatures. He is not their master, but only the depositary of a responsibility. Concrete practices result from this world view: attitude of reverence, fair and balanced position vis-à-vis the whole of creation. As a religion revealed on an austere and arid land that does not allow for wastage, Islam is replete with provisions regarding the prohibition of waste, the treatment of animals or water management.
However, the Arab world, like all civilizations, has not always acted according to its principles, and it bears responsibility for the degradation of our natural heritage. Above all, the sincerity of efforts by the Arab world in this task is often questioned because of the key role played by oil in the economy of many of these countries. Historically, this questioning is not without reason. But - we must insist - the situation is changing: many experts, even within oil exporting countries argue for a parsimonious management of remaining oil resources, as oil is not only a source of energy but has other industrial uses. Nowadays, we are no longer in a situation of "competition" between oil and other energy sources.
This new atmosphere is evidenced by the recent launch of the Union for the Mediterranean World, launched in Paris on July 13 and14, 2008:
The Union for the Mediterranean World proposes a new method. It is based on "concrete projects". The projects must meet two principles: that of equal partnership first, requiring that projects be identified and offered jointly by the countries of the south shore and the north shore; one of variable geometry, allowing that only countries volunteering on a given project associate towards its fulfillment.
Among the priority areas already identified: the environment, renewable energy, civil protection, education, training, culture. In particular, a "solar energy plan" is in the making, which will greatly expand solar energy production on the south side of the Mediterranean.
Efforts initiated for making the Mediterranean a pilot region in the approach to environmental problems are not new: since 1978, a framework convention, the Barcelona Convention, was adopted by the countries bordering the Mediterranean so as to better protect the environment. In 2005, the objective of cleaning the Mediterranean Sea by 2020 was endorsed by the heads of states concerned. But these initiatives have not found so far, concrete translation. The Union provides a framework for better decision-making and innovative financing.
Being a semi-enclosed sea, the Mediterranean is particularly vulnerable to pollution: 60% of its cities discharge their sewage into the sea without treatment. The pollutions from inland, whether from cities or agricultural areas, contribute to sea pollution via rivers. Chemical pollutants from industry accumulate in marine life. These pressures will increase sharply: 100 million additional people will live in the Mediterranean basin twenty years from now. Hence the urgent need to change radically environmental management in this region. If the implementation of this partnership between the Arab world and Europe proves successful it will certainly become a model of international cooperation, but also an example of how to exploit the cultural resources that Arab countries can offer the global community.
Allow me an additional observation: Who knows? Perhaps an environmental management plan of the Taiwan Strait and its shores, the development of wind resources, the cleaning of marine waters and other similar priorities could fit into the efforts currently led for fostering a peaceful and positive relationship between China and Taiwan? An "Environmental Plan for the Taiwan Straits" would be both a factor of peace, by creating common interests, and a notable contribution that would be noticed by the global community. It seems to me that it would be in the interest of Taiwan to take the initiative.
These were, dear friends, the thoughts I wanted to contribute to the debate which opens today. I have the conviction that, paradoxically, the challenge of climate change is an opportunity for the international community - as long as it obliges us to reflect on the roots of our behavior, to consider anew our values and priorities, and finally to invent together a model of humane and sustainable development, creating new solidarity among nations, regions and cultures of the globe. The issues that we are tackling today, therefore, go beyond the groups, traditions and interests that we represent. May we, Taiwanese and guests come from afar, contribute actively, in the forums in which we participate and the communities that are ours, to the emergence of cultural innovations arising from the challenges that we must face together.
D. Baudis' speech in its original version (French)
Unabridged version of the speech
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