With six months left to the Copenhagen climate negotiations the world faces multiple crises. All are a direct or indirect result of an economic policy that stimulates value creation on the short term with disastrous effects on the medium or long term. Sustainable development forms the core of the solutions for these crises.  

Between 1992, when the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was singed, and 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol’s objectives must be realised, 7300 days have passed and worldwide CO₂ emissions have been reduced by 5,3%. Between December 2009 and 2020, which is 3650 days, the world should lessen over 30% in their CO₂ emissions. That means that in half the time we must realise six times more emission reduction than in the twenty years before. These figures show that if we want to solve the multiple crises we need to act now.

There have been attempts to speed up this process but all failed. One of the most important reasons was the enormous distrust between nations to implement and execute the proposed plans. The USA are waiting for countries like China, India and Brazil to take action, but these countries are waiting for the USA to take the first step. This ends in a deadlock of ‘show me the money’ versus ‘show me the action’.

This deadlock is a classical example of the prisoner’s dilemma in which people act on self-interest combined with rational considerations. Here ‘rational’ means acting according the logic of the ‘homo economic’: maximum gain for the lowest cost. People take conscious decisions in each others disadvantage. This implies that we will always tend for the second best option. The risk that the other party involved will betray you is simply too big; in the case of climate negotiations this suggests free rider behaviour. When you take responsibility yourself, it is possible for the other party to resist taking action. So when you think of it in a ‘rational’ manner, the USA and China will never come to a consensus since it’s is in their self-interest to keep polluting the environment even though it works in their disadvantage on the long term.

The only way out of this deadlock is via the reinsurance of mutual trust between countries and their representatives. Only then countries will choose the best option based on the presumption that the other party will do the same: they have faith in the fact the other party wont betray them. The problem is not longer a problem of different interests but one of the same interest and only one option: the best.

Facing the current multiple crises there is great need for reinforcement of global trust. The only way we can achieve that is via diplomacy: the global, intercultural and only manner in which all countries of the world communicate with each other. We can’t solve the current problems alone, we need to work together and we need to act now.

Based on ‘Het milieu is een prisoners dilemma’ by Rob Wijnberg.