William J. Cromartie, Richard Stockton College, USA
Abstract: My reflections are based on the papers Energy and Equity by Ivan Illich (1973) and Equity and Greenhouse Gas Responsibility by Paul Baer et al. Science 289: 2287 (2000). Ivan Illich, priest and philosopher, provides an excellent starting point for a discussion of the political dimensions of energy use in developed and developing countries. Baer et al. (2000) provide a very succinct statement of the overall problem of dealing with climate change through greenhouse gas regulation and conclude that any future international agreement must be based on principles of equity, specifically, “equal rights to common resources” and “polluter pays.” Illich clearly foresaw that beyond a critical (and very low) threshold, continued expansion of energy dependence in societies would lead to diminished equity and the loss by the less favored of access to basic resources and freedoms. Baer et al. show that efforts to control the environmental effects of fossil energy dependence cannot be negotiated except on equitable principles. Because their focus is on the environmental, and not the political effects, however, they leave unanswered the critical question: will the developed and developing nations opt for the road of continued dependence on massive inputs of energy, only of “sustainable” character, or will they opt for minimal energy dependence and expanded (or restored) political freedom and equity. At the present time, even the easier question posed by Baer et al. has been avoided by the climate change negotiators from the major polluting nations. Until the citizens of the developed and developing countries can recognize their own loss of freedom and equality in their increasing energy consumption lifestyle, it is unlikely that the gridlock can be broken.
