Mallen Baker's Blog

Is the human race dumb enough to deserve extinction?

5 Nov 2009

iStockPhoto.com / montage Mallen

I've just watched footage on the BBC website showing Jeremy Paxman asking pretty stupid questions of Al Gore. It's not Paxman's fault per se - he's just asking the same dumb questions others have been throwing around in the last few days.

Most remarkable is whether there is something to criticise in that Gore, as a businessman, has invested in renewable energy technologies. Is his 30 year campaign on climate change really just an extended commercial break?

It beggars belief that such nonsense gets airtime. As Gore himself says, if he invested in old style technologies he would be called a hypocrite. This is just about putting your money where your mouth is. Why wouldn't you?

It follows on from the "how much energy does Al Gore use" (his energy is provided by renewable sources) and "shouldn't Al Gore be vegetarian" (not if you don't believe in worldwide vegetarianism as a policy - as previously discussed here).

The point here is - the attacks are not the point.

It is a great diversion to use against anyone who argues for change to challenge them on their own behaviour. Why? Because it is a no-win scenario.

Almost nobody will meet the ideal in every aspect of how they live their life. So, on some pretty tiny aspect, they can be challenged - which then effectively undermines them and more importantly their message. And rather than debating the issue, you have a defensive conversation about personal behaviour.

And suppose they do meet every single aspect in every part of their life? At that point, they look so extreme, so unlike the rest of us, that they can be discounted as a bit of a nutter.

So why, in the run-up to Copenhagen, are we debating nuances of Al Gore's life rather than focusing on the issues?

It is because we have already lost a key aspect of the struggle on climate change. In the US - one of the most important countries in the world with regard to emissions, it has solidified into a partisan issue.

In the UK and many other countries, the fact of climate change has become the basis for political consensus. The parties can always squabble around the best policies to meet the targets without unnecessary cost. But the fact that the targets have to be met - that is a point of common agreement.

In the US. things are very different. And because it has become a partisan issue, the debate has got very little to do with science, and more to do with tribalism.

Al Gore has argued the case consistently, eloquently, and powerfully for many years. In retrospect, however, it may not prove to have been a good thing to have a former Vice President playing this role.

Because he belongs to one tribe. The other tribe will attack him, ridicule him, misrepresent him. Because he wears the other team's colours. And any stick is good enough to beat a dog.

A wholly non-partisan figure that could carry the respect on both sides of the political debate might have made more progress.

All very well to say - but where is such a non-partisan figure?

This is why businesses have such an important role to play. As we have seen with the mini-walkout from the US Chamber over its critical voice on climate, businesses can take a lead. And they are a force that carries real weight with all sides of the political divide.

They are the constituency that is pragmatic. They will seek to influence either tribe to get the right policies. They are not tribal - and they are important to both tribes.

There is a real imperative to building political leadership and consensus amongst American businesses. Their voice in the ongoing debate is key to future success.

If they can see the enlightened case for change - as many businesses in different parts of the world have done - there may just be a chance. If they focus on the short term because that's where the current honey pot is located - then they will have just been another face of the dumb human race that once walked the earth.

Tags: CSR corporate lobbying climate change Al Gore vegetarianism corporate social responsibility Mallen Baker

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