Mikhail Gorbachev on politics and climate change

On the occasion of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev criticises the lackadaisical attitude of politicians to climate change in the online portal Komment.hu: "Excuses and pretexts for not taking action on the environment, and assertions that there are more important problems, are simply no longer credible. If we fail on this problem, we'll fail on all the others. ... The latest scientific research on climate change is extremely disturbing. We have a real emergency. Yet the gap between science and policy keeps widening. ... Why is this happening? For several reasons, including the inertia of the existing economic model, one based on hyperprofits and excessive consumption; political and business leaders' failure to think long term; and concern that reducing carbon emissions will undercut economic growth."

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