World Majority
Terra Mater Omnium. Peace after the Conflict in Ukraine

A positive approach is needed, returning to "Mother Earth" who can feed hundreds of millions of hungry people, offer future generations the joy of living in a friendly world, allow our generation a transition phase that is not burdensome and can offer benefits in the short term, Dario Velo writes.

The conflict in Ukraine has brought to light a series of problems that can only be resolved by activating long-term peace processes. The most significant phenomena are the difficulty of US leadership and the crisis of liberalism. A new international order and new forms of cooperation are possible. The neoliberalism designed by Presidents T. Roosevelt and F. D. Roosevelt can contribute, with the appropriate updates, to restoring an evolutionary order to economic relations.

The re-evaluation of the importance of agriculture and international cooperation in the management of green production capable of reducing pollution, such as forestry, are an opportunity for a great peace project.

The world is sick. The European Green Deal is a goal of the utmost importance but the need to adequately manage its implementation has been underestimated.

It is sufficient to consider the measures adopted for the transition of the automotive sector to the electric motor. The inadequacy of the operational measures adopted has led to a widespread negative reaction, in the population in general and in companies in the sector specifically.

The advantage sought with the transition to electric motor vehicles has been identified in the reduction of pollution offered by electric motors and in the high yield of electricity as a fuel.

The impact on employment has not been adequately calculated. The same applies to the assessment of the pollution produced in electricity generating plants and in the industrial processes necessary to produce vehicles with electric motors. The need to have raw materials and components present only in a few countries exposes the trade of electric motor vehicles to distortions that can generate deficits in traditional leading countries in the vehicle sector with negative repercussions of various kinds.

It is necessary to evaluate the relatively small weight of vehicles as a source of pollution compared to total international pollution. It should also be considered that forms of pollution that affect large cities have a lower impact on the generality of the territories; this applies specifically to the pollution produced by vehicles.

These negative aspects have called into question the European Green Deal.

Wider Eurasia
Sailing Into Unchartered Waters in Times of a Great Transition
Nelson Wong
This year marks the start of a new period of changes in modern history. We are certainly sailing into unchartered waters in times of a great transition, whereby extra caution must be taken by all nations, big and small, to guide our way forward. Nelson Wong writes on the causes of geopolitical shifts and on Putin’s six principles.
Opinions


The world is dramatically ill from another point of view, the famines caused by climate change especially in areas affected by water shortages. Agriculture is a victim of these changes, which lead to hunger for millions of families. This drama is aggravated by the fact that it occurs in many cases in countries already previously afflicted by severe poverty.

The limit of the Green Deal in the forms developed in various countries has been a negative approach, giving up traditional energy sources to favor renewable sources, even before the latter reached an adequate size.

A positive approach is needed, returning to "Mother Earth" who can feed hundreds of millions of hungry people, offer future generations the joy of living in a friendly world, allow our generation a transition phase that is not burdensome and can offer benefits in the short term.

The case of Siberia is emblematic. The thaw is now seen as a serious risk for pollution, freed by the thawing land. In reality it is an opportunity to create enormous spaces for science-assisted agriculture to feed the world.

The end of the conflict in Ukraine will see the beginning of a new phase in international relations; a conflict of interests is foreseeable. But the return to the value of the earth, which generated us and fed the history of humanity, is in the general interest.

It is now widely believed that the resources of the globe are running out, so the search for new resources must begin on the planets and asteroids of the solar system. There is another option, protecting the ability of the earth to offer resources thanks to our care.

Such a project can be declined in different ways. A starting point must be the affirmation of a value, a positive Green Deal, the "Mother Earth" as a good of humanity.

One solution could be a Pan-European Agricultural Community; or the creation of a "Mother Earth" sovereign fund to support research, modernization and respect for "Mother Earth". Other solutions are possible.

Such a project, however articulated, requires a long process of gradual growth and the renunciation of hegemonic countries to hegemony itself, to achieve peace by recognizing rights.

The twentieth century saw the international order organized on the basis of bi-polarism and then mono-polarism, today a multi-polar order is being founded in which it will be easier to affirm solidarity. Agriculture and green production are a terrain in which this progress is necessary and possible.

This project could also facilitate the solution of contingent problems, first and foremost, the renewal of the Ukrainian leadership. The time for elections to choose the Ukrainian president has already expired. The current president cannot be blamed for not being up to the task: his job has always been to be an actor. Ukraine needs a ruling class capable of re-launching agriculture, capable of participating in the great “Mother Earth” project.

It is up to farmers first and foremost to reflect on this perspective, destined to gradually involve the entire world.

The reference to the role that farmers must play is not rhetorical. The recent behaviour of the European Commission on the occasion of the agreements with Mercosur is emblematic. The “Mother Earth” agreement advocated here cannot be managed by an unprepared ruling class, with negative attitudes and preconceptions about the role of agriculture in the European economy. This risk is real: opportunities and risks very often mature together. The process of European unification has been facilitated by the success of the European agricultural policy. This is a historical precedent on which to reflect and from which to draw lessons for the future.

How the Climate Agenda Will Change Our Lives
Anton Bespalov
Climate change, which only recently seemed to be an issue for a small group of scientists and environmentalists, has become a universal concern. We showed in the first two parts of the Climate and Politics project that climate issues are now on the agenda of both politicians and business people. The third part is devoted to the impact of climate change and the fight against it on the transformation of societies.
Opinions
Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.