David Korten: Where does the concept of “climate debt” fit into a New Economy framework?
By: David Korten in YES! Magazine Blogs
May 12, 2010
As the climate changes, the consequences for poor people in low-income countries—those who have had no part in the profligate consumption that created the problem—will be particularly devastating. This fact is bringing climate justice to the fore of the agenda for many progressive groups that deal with international issues. But even among those groups, all proposals for dealing equitably with the climate crisis are not equal. The differences between them highlight an important contrast between Old Economy and New Economy perspectives.
That difference is highlighted by blogs on the issue by two progressive friends and colleagues I greatly admire. A blog by Naomi Klein titled "Climate Rage" spells out the Old Economy’s “climate debt” take on climate justice. A blog by Gustavo Esteva with Juliette Beck, titled "Let's See Ourselves," presents a New Economy take that focuses on localization. The contrast between the perspectives brings to mind the wisdom of Albert Einstein, who observed that a problem cannot be solved within the same conceptual frame that created it.
