Sir, – At the conclusion of the latest G7 summit, the leaders declared with great pride their agreement to donate a billion vaccines to the world’s poorest countries and also reminded us of their significant commitments to combat climate change.
However, there was no evidence, from any of the briefings that the group had made, which acknowledged the inextricable link between the Covid pandemic and the practices which have led to both accelerated climate change and the biodiversity crisis.
No acknowledgement that an economic model which is dependent on unsustainable growth in the consumption of needless materialism is driving the increasing frequency and virulence of zoonosis across the globe.
There is no point in talking up speculative technology to capture carbon while we continue to destroy the natural world to feed an insatiable machine that needs to grow by 3 per cent a year.
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Until global leaders recognise and face up the fact that capitalism in its current guise is destroying the planet’s ability to recover from human impact, we can forget about a return to normal and prepare for more pandemics.
It’s not rocket science to join the dots between global pandemic, climate chaos and biodiversity collapse, and find a root cause. It’s right in front of us, as is the solution, if we have the collective will to confront it. – Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Blackrock,
Cork.
Sir, –The G7 leaders met and deliberated and issued statements of how they are going to save the world.
Their most ardent plans and policies could count for little as they fail to even mention the single most urgent problem confronting human beings at present – the inability of outdated economic ideology to cope with, manage and get the best out of the genius of technological achievement.
Our great world leaders ignore the implications. They are trying to manage a new world order of immense ability, abundance and accelerating elimination of dependence on human input (ie work) with a philosophy which evolved to promote exactly the opposite to what we desperately need.
Constantly increasing output coupled with working harder and longer are entirely alien to the wonderful technological age our genius has managed to create.
Economic “recovery” is of little use if it means return to an utterly inadequate and failing economic philosophy.
What the G7 desperately needs to do, in conjunction with two great economic powers presently excluded, is design, agree on and implement an economic philosophy which, instead of promoting growth, restrains output to what is needed for consumption, restores conditions for local commerce, ensures employment sufficient to sustain society and, in the longer term, extends affluence to all.
Climate change reversal appears priority for all political agreement and action. Saving economics from collapse is far more important and urgent. Major economic collapse will result in democracy being overtaken by extremist politics with little worry for climate change.
With technology capable of enormous destruction as well as enormous benefit this must not be allowed happen. It would be tragedy exemplified to have the best economic time ever snatched from us just because we can’t cope with or manage the greatest success ever achieved by human beings. – Yours, etc,
PADRAIC NEARY,
Tubbercurry,
Co Sligo.