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The 2017 Imperial Springs International Forum, an event co-hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the Australia China Friendship and Exchange Association (ACFEA), was held at the Imperial Springs International Convention Center on November 28th, with over 20 former political VIPs participating.
The theme for this year's forum was "Global Governance and China's Perspectives." Former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos delivered the keynote speech on sustainable development goals and climate change at one of the parallel sessions.
Developed and developing countries have different economic growth patterns. Ricardo Lagos said that in the past decade, especially in the years right after the global economic crisis of 2008, it was evident that the American dream had collapsed. In the American dream, when society was progressing, people lived better lives, but the reality proved different. In the United States and Europe, the younger generation didn't live better lives than the previous generation. In the US, people born in the 1940 generally believed that their lives were much better than the previous generation, but only 70% of those born in the 1960s shared this belief, while only half of those born in the 1980s believed they would live a better life. Looking at research data, we could tell that the American dream was a long-gone concept, as it was in Europe. In the past 10 to 15 years, most European countries saw economic stagnation or serious economic recession. Ricardo Lagos said that growth momentum in developed countries had virtually stopped; in contrast, developing countries managed to grow rapidly.
Developing countries have gradually eliminated poverty, and China in particular has done a great job in this regard. In the 1990s, 40% of the Chilean population was living below the poverty line; now, it is less than 10%. According to Ricardo Lagos, the 30% of the population who had escaped from poverty didn't want to live a hard life anymore and they had new goals for their lives. They were well aware that they had to work extra hard; otherwise, they would not be able to claim middle-class status. But at the same time, existing middle-class people found it difficult to continue climbing the social ladder, creating what was called "the trapped middle class." Such a phenomenon might occur in the US and China, but our immediate issue was how to address the different demands of these middle-class people.
To Ricardo Lagos, economic indicators were not sufficient to evaluate people's livelihoods – they should not be the only benchmark. He suggested that we should go beyond statistical figures and economic factors to evaluate people's happiness. There were other elements to be considered, including per capita living space, green areas within the community and the infant mortality rate, among other factors. At present, the infant mortality rate is relatively high in Chile – 0.8%, compared to 0.2% to 0.3% for many other countries. Ricardo Lagos said that efforts should be made to eradicate inequity in these areas. Per capita living space and harmony and coherence within society will be a far-reaching influence on the younger generation, and we shall address these issues to ensure that sustainable development goals are met.
Ricardo Lagos also addressed the issue of climate change in his speech. We should take a long view of this issue, rather than a narrow "present" view. Carbon emissions today are not as significant as they will be if they continue at the current rate for the next 120 or 130 years; then the problem will be very serious. With the rapid economic growth of the world, more and more carbon emissions will be produced, and we have to know for sure how long carbon emissions stay in our atmosphere.
In 2010, at least 28% of the global carbon emissions were contributed by the US. Despite that, China had a larger volume of carbon emissions than that of the US, but the US should shoulder greater responsibility. China was growing in economic strength, but it also shouldered proportional responsibilities. There must be a more comprehensive mechanism to divide the responsibilities and a common action plan to deal with the carbon emissions issue globally.
When talking about new technologies, Ricardo Lagos expressed his doubt as to what extent new technologies could influence public policy. He said that as a resource-limited country, Chile relied heavily on the import of natural gas and oil. Chile did price research, aiming to predict how these natural resources would be priced in 2020 or 2030. Experts predicted that the country would have a much higher demand for natural gas and oil, and therefore Chile might consider alternative energy options, including solar or wind power.
Ricardo Lagos also raised other issues in his speech. For example, how to evaluate sustainable development effectively? At the national level, city level or regional level? In terms of carbon mission, should each social dimension bear its own responsibility? Is it possible to set up a working evaluation system for carbon emissions, like we do for public transportation? Can an industry-specific standard be applied in an urban planning framework?
We must spend public revenue wisely. In terms of urban planning and urban transportation design, we should incorporate the concept of carbon emissions into the overall design. The key to solving these problems is understanding our national condition, using our wealth wisely and finding ways to improve people’s living standards. These problems can be solved, whether at the city level or regional level. The pressing issue is to set up an effective evaluation mechanism and encouraging everyone to get involved in these endeavors.
● The views expressed in the article are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and standpoints of the organizers.
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