The future of international environmental law - Introduction to International Environmental Law - page 199

change regime, which only concentrates on reducing greenhouse gas emis-
sions into the atmosphere and on preparing to adapt to the effects of climate
change.
The third alternative is turning climate change into a security issue .
Climate change is generally thought to be an environmental problem that can
be controlled and administered. If, however, science proves that the phenom-
enon is threatening the future of our planet, should it not be considered as a
security policy issue, thus assigning it a totally different weight and resourcing
in international politics? The UK, for instance, arranged a special session on
climate change as a security policy issue in the UN Security Council during
its presidency. However, the problem might be that if climate change were
to become a security policy fi eld, it could be administered by armies and
security forces.
To date, none of these models seems to have gained much momentum in
international politics. Climate change is not considered a security policy issue
and not really a human rights issue. There are several opinions about which
model could reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, while the
Durban 'roadmap' is the only vague plan for the future.
An essential change in our world-view
There is little room for doubt that climate change is the environmental
problem that threatens humankind most severely. Its effects are so dramatic
and inclusive that if we are not prepared to change our way of life, and
states do not reassess their deeply held political and economic values, the
future predicted by scientists is diffi cult even to imagine. Climate change is
also the most diffi cult environmental problem to solve. The earth's surface
temperature is likely to rise only gradually, so it is diffi cult to create the kind
of pressure for regulation that normally follows a catastrophic environmental
disaster.
Containing climate change will require intervention with the basics of
modern economies: fi rst and foremost, a radical reduction in the use of all
fossil fuels. With a few exceptions, all current energy policy decisions result in
an increase of the use of fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency goes as
far as to predict that we will use considerably more fossil fuels in 2030 than we
do now. This will accelerate climate change, as more carbon dioxide is
released into the atmosphere, causing the earth's surface temperature to rise
and the climate to change. The worst-case scenario is that we exceed the
so-called tipping point, after which even a slight rise in temperature will cause
dramatic changes to the climate system through self-sustaining feedback loops.
The most serious effects of climate change, such as desertifi cation and rising
sea levels, are likely to affl ict poorer developing countries in the South (and
fi rst and foremost the poorest people in the poorest countries), who are already
battling multiple social problems. They do not have the know-how, the