?Some anonymous local wit changed the pronunciation of the acronym for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting CHOGM (pronounced CHOGUM) to CHEWING GUM. Playing on this, one can ask of the 52 Commonwealth heads the famous intelligence question: "Can you chew gum and play with the paper?" I say this since the meeting is being touted as a prelude to next month's UN Copenhagen meeting on climate change. Yet, there are four complementary global issues, including climate change, which any serious set of 52 countries, with a combined population of two billion people, ought to be "chewing over."
Poverty and the global economic crisis
The first urgent issue is to avoid further exacerbation of widespread poverty as a result of the global economic crisis. Over the last quarter century, market fundamentalism (the economic religion which sees the market as monarch and everyone her vassals, peons, and slaves), already resulted in massive inequality, both within and between countries: before the global financial and economic crisis. Hundreds of millions of Commonwealth citizens live misery lives and millions die prematurely yearly (including millions of children). They cannot wait for climate change to kill them: they dead already!
The problem is that the solution has been put in the hands of most of the same people responsible for its creation in the first place: a classic example of "Satan correcting sin!" If Commonwealth leaders–and certainly the much-touted parallel civil society forum–has any testicular fortitude, they would seek to ensure that the victims of market fundamentalism do not bear the brunt of the adjustment, as occurred in prior financial crises. (Then metropolitan governments–via the IMF, World Bank, etc–strong-armed debtor governments to make their vulnerable groups pay for irresponsible creditor lending).
Drugs, arms trade and crime
There is an undeclared global pandemic of drug-taking in the envied "developed" societies, exacerbated by an irresponsible arms trade. The result is what economists called "externalities" (or the unpaid for consequences of ones actions) in the form of rampant crime–particularly brutally violent crime–in the countries where drugs are either produced or transhipped. In a similar manner to world poverty, this pandemic is contributing to substantial unnecessary deaths and injuries, while also destroying communities and even societies in Commonwealth countries.
Market fundamentalism does not recognise such "externalities" as requiring compensatory payments by the drug-using countries (eg, For drug interdiction services) and gun-producing countries: nor seeking to tackle the drug problem at source. Rather, the dominant attitude is to place the burden on the drug-producing and transshipment countries. This CHOGM should insist that countries such as the USA and Western Europe take responsibility and address their drug-dependent population and criminally irresponsible arms industry.
Global, environmental pollution
While we forecast the future negative impacts of climate change, the deterioration in the natural environment goes on apace NOW, as a result of deforestation, biodiversity loss and soil, water and air pollution, including toxic chemicals. Again, this is not awaiting climate change: it is happening here and now.
Climate change
The critical solution to the climate change problem requires what US ecological economist, Prof Herman Daly, calls the "over-developed" countries (beginning with the USA) making dramatic changes in their own greenhouse gas consumption. Until this happens, China and India will claim that "if the priest could play, who is we?" US politics will not make this happen now: not with mid-term elections pending and Obama's ratings slipping. As a result, the Copenhagen meeting has already pre-collapsed and no amount of CHOGM hot air will change that.
The onus, therefore, should be on educating consumers in the Commonwealth to hit OECD greenhouse gas polluting firms where it hurts most: in their sales.
The Commonwealth–certainly its civil society forum–should pass a resolution to create a global greenhouse reduction (and carbon neutral) standards agency. Firms should be given the clear choice to accept the subjecting of their products to such standards: Comply or feel the brunt of consumer anger. The CHOGM declarations will provide the answer to the question: can they chew gum (address climate change) while simultaneously addressing the other issues of global poverty, environmental degradation and the drugs, gun trade and crime pandemic?
Little of this, I am afraid, is likely to be included in any resolutions from Commonwealth heads or civil society. The usual meaningless platitudes (since they are not backed by actions) are more likely. The Queen, Prince Philip and the governmental delegates will then all go home, leaving T&T to ponder what national, regional or international benefits have come from the US$200-odd million forked out by (or unwillingly forced out from) T&T taxpayers for the CHOGM and Summit of the Americas. This is relative to opportunities foregone for addressing pressing domestic drug, crime, environmental and climate change, etc, issues.