Al-QURAN - NED University

30polluter of all the US has announced its ownconference in tackling climate change which willprotect US industry and it was the US’s insistenceon not agreeing reduction targets that led to thecollapse of the Kyoto Protocol – an internationaltreaty. The US is not prepared to enter any dealwhich requires it to cut its consumption levels.This is why instead of calling for a radical cutbackin automobile use the US accepts that the numberof motor vehicles will double. It proposes toexpand production and accelerate development ofnon-fossil fuel alternatives for future cars such assynthetic bio fuels and carbon dioxide-freehydrogen.Capitalism at the centre of the problem:Reducing emissions would mean industry in theWest would need to produce less – this wouldlead to the economies of the West to shrink ratherthen grow. To reduce consumption is consideredShirk in Capitalism. By the same token, the rate ofconsumption of fossil fuels in developed countriesis also extremely high relative to the rest of theworld. The depletion of non-renewable resourcesand environmental destruction is primarily causedby the consumption patterns of such nations.Global warming is the result of rapidindustrialization from the West with the soleconcern of profit making. Although there existstechnologies that allow the development of cleanlow-emission industries, their costs are high andas a result have been unable to break into themainstream market. China and India have only inthe last 20 years seen rapid development, globalwarming was already high prior to that. However,the US continues to blame China and India fordeveloping too quickly, in other words the US isshifting the blame away from itself.The worlds developed nations are trying hard toavoid radical controls on growth, consumptionand profits. They have attempted to stave off alooming climate catastrophe by voluntary cuts,techno fixes and carbon trading; all these aredesperate efforts to prevent the inevitable.An Islamic Approach:The planetary system, the earth and itsecosystems, all work within their own limits andIslam sets limits to human behavior as a controlagainst excess. In essence, Islam describes anintegrated code of behavior which deals withpersonal hygiene, at one end of the spectrum, toour relationship with the natural order at theother. Regarding the environment Islam containsregulations concerning the conservation andallocation of scarce water resources; it has rulesfor the conservation of land with special zones ofgraded use; it has special rules for theestablishment of rangelands, wetlands, greenbelts and also wildlife protection andconservation. Allah (S.W.T) exhorts mankind to bemoderate“ItisHewhoproducesgardens,bothofdiversekindsandlivesandpomegranates bothsimilaranddissimilar.Eatoftheirfruits cultivatedandwild,andpalmtreesandcropsthedaysoftheirharvest,anddonotbe profligate.Hedoesnotlovetheprofligate“ whentheybearfruitsandpaytheirduesonConclusion(TMQ6:142)makesGEO-2000it clear that if present trends inpopulation growth, economic growth andconsumption patterns continue, the naturalenvironment will be increasingly stressed. Distinctenvironmental gains and improvements willprobably be offset by the pace and scale of globaleconomic growth, increased global environmentalpollution and accelerated degradation of theEarth's renewable resource basePresent consumption patterns are leading to thedepletion of key minerals such as water wells,fossil fuels and agricultural land. At the same timethe consumption of such minerals is leading topollution to enter the atmosphere and the effectof this is now being felt across the world. Althoughmost if not all of the models used to track thetemperature in the atmosphere or the coolingeffect is debatable and open to speculation, onething that is for certain is Capitalism has nointention of reducing its consumption of theworld’s limited minerals.