Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

I think the book in itself tells a story that very important for our time. It is a fictional reflection on a theme that is less interesting than the original reality and the end of the book is an interesting reflection of ways to hide a reality that should be dealt with.

Sitting in Doha during the climate negotiations my thoughts of the book might be colored by the fact that I’m in the middle of what the Economist describes as “Theatre of the absurd”. Policy makers, media, NGO’s and scientists gather at a meeting that is a about ideas of meetings that could result in a process that might deliver something that could help create what is needed. In short, we have a situation where few do anything that is even close to what is actually needed.

As many books recently I finally came around to reed it as a movie was done. With Ang Lee behind it I’m expecting a beautiful movie, but I wondered if it would have any content. It could be a really amazing movie if the fable/fantasy was contrasted against the more likely story that the book is opening up for in the end. In our connected society funny/graphic stories are powerful and can help or undermine the work that is needed to address the challenges of our time.

I might also feel frustrated that the book seems to have “stolen/borrowed” so much from one of the books I really enjoyed when it was published back in 1986. Adrift: 76 Days Lost At Sea, by Steven Callahan. It is a really fascinating story about survival and the elements. The way he relates to nature and his situation is something that inspire, he referred to his experience as “A view of heaven from a seat in hell”. Comparing the two books feels so unfair, one is a real story about someone who has actually experienced something and have something to say. Yann Martell feels like just another author trying to become famous but without anything to say, but being quite good at that.

I only found any value in the book when I read the last few pages when the “alternative” story is revealed. How we as humans like to create stories that makes us look better, the world more simple and that can hide things that hurt is very interesting. Maybe the book can be read as a critique of religion as Pi is described and a person who is drawn to the big religions. This search for simplicity might be what allows him to create his own fantasy universe when things gets difficult. But if that was the story, and that would have been an interesting story, I guess Yann would have spent some time writing about it?

To sum up: Don’t waste your time read this book. If you are interested in religion read something by Richard Dawkins and if you are interested in adventure/being lost at sea read Adrift: 76 Days Lost At Sea, by Steven Callahan. If you want to kill some time with fables, read something more well written than this, maybe Kipling (but remember that George Orwell called him a "prophet of British imperialism" for some very good reasons).

“Doha: Where dreams die” or “From Doha to Doha - 2001 Trade to 2012 Climate”

It is a strange feeling being back in Doha after more than 10 years during which the world have changed significantly, and at the same time feel that history is repeating itself. Just over ten years ago the world’s trade experts met in Doha. They did so in the shadow if the major failure in Seattle 1999 where the global trading systems collapsed under itself. The world trade system had been a technical issue for decades, but then two world collided. The old world wanted to expand and use the traditional logic of “more trade” in other areas. The new world wanted to ask questions about sustainable development and if “more of the same” was really the best recipe moving forward.

The result was great confusion that exposed the gap between the rhetoric (support for the poor, help environmental sustainability and avoid protectionism) and reality (keep an unfair global trading system that push resources to the west, do anything to protect old business and include only incremental improvements as solutions, and keep an unsustainable farming proactive and food habits in the north). In Doha the “Doha Development Round” was launched without anyone really believing it would do anything significant. Still the machinery kept going for years and only in 2008 most negotiators had also given up. The process is now in some kind of zombie state between totally dead and just a little dead.

The Wikipedia article about the Doha round (that I read for the first time now) is a sad reading that anyone who do not want to feel cynic about the world should avoid. Still a lot of interesting processes was born during this process. Personally I was able to use it both to launch WWF’s BRICS work and develop some ideas/networks regarding the next generation of trade system (whenever it is time to re-think).

Fast forward ten years and we live in the shadow of the major collapse in Copenhagen during the COP15 meeting in 2009. Again the world’s experts that failed to get any results, but this time in the climate area, gather in Doha. This time the atmosphere is even more cynical and pessimistic than during the WTO meeting a decade earlier.

Compared to the WTO meeting the scientists in the climate area are very clear, act now or we might see the end of civilization in a few decades. You would expect such dire warnings to ensure that there were special G20 summits, crisis meetings among the world leading economists, etc. but really nothing is happening. Different reports highlight the possibilities, and dangers, but nothing result in actual action. Even more perplexing is that the climate challenge is still in the hands of the least powerful ministers on the planet, environmental ministers.

So powerless ministers meet at a place that might be the best illustration in the word of the distance between words and action (Doha, Qatar). An oil nation that talks a lot about sustainable development and hire PR agencies to help them do it. They are like a warmer and less PR savvy version of Norway, another country that talks a lot about sustainable development and spread (oil) money at different nice projects around the world (and getting rewards for this). All while doing what they can to open up new oil fields in the arctic and exploring the tar sand that people like James Hansen have called “game over of climate” I should say that Norway is not alone in the hypocrisy, there are even “socially responsible pension funds” (including from Sweden where I live) that invest in the tar sand (ignoring the big picture and trying to make sure that the local pollution should be minimal…!!! What’s next, trying to make sure that the screws on atomic bombs are fair trade and environmentally sustainable?

So while the official meeting here, and especially the consultants trying to make a buck on the broken system, belong to what the Economist (in an unusual sober assessment) calls the “Theatre of the absurd” there are things being born under the surface.

Compared with the WTO system there is an advantage and it is the fact that many of the senior people still remember when the system was created and the actual reason for the current negotiations. This “freshness” of the system, combined with the fact that people like Christiana Figueres still want the process to actually deliver results that matter, make me optimistic. So while the formal system is not delivering much results there are many ideas and initiatives being discuss that hopefully could deliver some significant results in the near future.

To end with some hope I insert an image  from a workshop in the Chinese pavilion where we discussed the role of communication (from a Chinese perspective). I used the parallel to the WTO meeting here and noted that it was back then when China entered the WTO. I look forward to a couple of more days with informal meetings and the official presentation of the “global risk and opportunity indicator” on Wednesday.

Three days in China = Book launch, BASIC meeting, CASS research fellowship and official presentation of Global Risk and opportunity Indicator

A few intensive days in Beijing (20-23 November) including: ➢ Launch of the Chinese version of László’s book ➢ BASIC meeting (see agenda below) ➢ I became a CASS research fellow/guest professor at the center for sustainable development (figuring out the English term). That’s why I have the little red thing with “letter of appointment” in my hand on the photo below. ➢ First official presentation of the Global Risk and Opportunity Indicator (see below for draft concept illustration)

The fact that there is a BASIC group and to be given the opportunity to follow this (and the BRICS) process is something I’m very grateful for.

On top of that a few other meetings that will hopefully provide some interesting results in 2013.

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CASS Forum on Equitable Access to Sustainable Development(EASD)

Time: 9:00-17:00, Nov. 21, 2012

Venue: Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing

9:00-9:10  welcome remarks, Mr. Wang Lei, Director of International Cooperation Bureau, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)

9:10-10:35  Theme 1：Durban Platform Negotiations

Moderator：Mr. Liu Yanhua, Counselor of State Council, former Vice Minister of Science and Technology

Speakers: （15 minutes for each）：

l  Ms. Yokeling Chee, Director of Programmes, Third World Network (TWN): Ensuring Equity in the Durban Platform

l  Ms. Nicola Willey, Head of Beijing Climate Change and Energy Team, UK Embassy：EU's Perspective on International Climate Negotiations and Position

l  Mr. Adriano Oliveira，Brazilian Environmental Ministry：Insights on International Climate Negotiations and Doha Outlook

l  Dr. Teng Fei，Associate Professor, 3E institute of Tsinghua University：Durban Platform Negotiation Outlook

l  Donald Pols, Head of the Climate Change Program, WWF International：

Q &A （10 minutes）

10:35-10:50 coffee break

10:50-12:10 Theme 2：Green Low Carbon Transition

Moderator：Mr. Lu Zheng，Deputy Director of Economics Department, CASS

Speakers（15 minutes for each）：

l  Mr. Liu Yanhua, Counselor of State Council, former Vice Minister of Science and Technology: New Economy and New Market in the context of Green Development

l  Dr. Zhang Yongsheng，Deputy Division Director, Development Research Centre (DRC) of State Council: Seizing the Opportunities of Green Development in China

l  Ms. Kim Coetzee, Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town：Low Carbon Development Strategy and Practice in South Africa

l  Dr. Zhu Rong, Senior Research Fellow, CMA Meteorological Service Center：Resources and Development Potentials of Wind Energy and Solar Energy in China

Q &A （10 minutes）

12:00-12:10 close remarks by Prof. Pan Jiahua, Director of Institute of Urban and Environmental Studies (IUE), CASS

12:10-13:30: Lunch

Launch of Books

13:30-13:35 Guests Introduction by Prof. Pan Jiahua, Director of IUE, CASS

13:35-14:35 Launch of books

Moderator: Mr. Xie Shouguang, Director of Social Sciences Academic Press (China)

Introduction by authors (20 minutes for each)

l  Green Book of Climate Change 2012, by Prof. Pan Jiahua, Director of IUE, CASS

l  BASIC Experts Joint Report on EASD, by Dr. Andrew Marquard, Senior Research Fellow, Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town

l  Human Risks and Global Governance, by Dr. Dennis Pamlin，Director, Low-Carbon Leaders at UN Global Compact，CEO/Founder of 21st Century Frontiers

14:35-14:55 coffee break

14:55-15:35 Comments and discussions

Moderator: Dr. Chao Qingchen, Deputy Director of National Climate Center, CMA

Speakers（10 minutes for each）：

l  Mr. Su Wei, Chief Climate Negotiator and Director-General Department of Climate Change, NDRC

l  Mr. Liu Yanhua, Counselor of State Council, former Vice Minister of Science and Technology

l  Prof. Wang Tongsan, member of Economics Department, former director of Institute of quantitative and Technical Economics (IQTE), CASS

l  Mr. Adriano Oliveira, Brazilian Environmental Ministry

15:35~15:45 remarks by representatives of the publishers

l  Mr. Jing Chenggong, editor, Intellectual Property Publishing House

l  Ms. Tan Jie, Vice Chief-editor, Central Compilation and Translation Press

15:45-16:10  Questions and Answers

16:10-16:50 Keynote Remarks

Moderator: Prof. Pan Jiahua, Director of IUE, CASS

Speakers (10 minutes for each):

l  Mr. Wang Weiguang, Vice President of CASS

l  Mr. Xie Zhenhua, Vice Chairman of NDRC, Director of Chinese Climate Negotiation Delegation

l  Dr. Zheng Guoguang, Director of CMA

l  Proxy Ambassador of EU Delegation

16:50-17:00 closing

The power of dialogue (Article in China Daily)

This is an article I wrote for China Daily as input to the follow-up of the 18th National Congress. The article emphasizes dialogue as well as two ideas for global sustainability that I hope to develop further during 2013:

1. The “9 billion filter for innovation and business development".  This approach was developed during my time in WWF and later used for the Low-Carbon Leaders project under the UNGC. I think there are more opportunities to use the concept and I would like to develop a proposal for a “sustainable innovation tax on luxury goods”, this could help both sustainable innovation, but also address growing inequity. China for example  is experiencing a rapidly growing income gap and struggle with innovation, so such a tool might be of interest.
2. A “Global Risk (and opportunity) Indicator”. I did first official presentation of this idea/initiative during the CASS Forum on Equitable Access to Sustainable Development (EASD) the 21^st of November in Beijing linked to the launch of the Chinese translation of László Szombatfalvy’s book. The next step is to discuss the possibilities further during COP18 in Doha.

The full text of the article is available below, and on China Daily’s webpage here.

The power of dialogue

New leadership reaffirms commitment to environmental, social, cultural and economic development

Many important ideas were presented during the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, but from a global perspective four messages are of particular interest. Those messages relate to dialogue, science, the planet and equity.

From a global perspective, the most important sentence during the 18th National Congress might have been when Xi Jinping ended his address to the media on Nov 16 with, "Just as China needs to learn more about the world, the world needs to learn more about China".

Regardless of what global challenges we talk about, dialogue must be at the center in the early 21st century. We now live in a situation when the world will face unprecedented global challenges like climate change, natural resource depletion, growing income differences, pandemics, terrorism, cyber crime and financial turmoil.

No country or group can solve these challenges on their own, but through dialogue and cooperation these challenges can be reduced, and turned into opportunities. Dialogue can support sustainable development through innovative green development in business and new lifestyles with better quality of life.

Dialogue is not the same thing as agreement on everything, but to respect and listen to the other voice. Too often foreigners still want to "teach" China things, especially in the area of global challenges. The truth is that Western countries have not solved any of the global problems. Though they have incrementally reduced the threat, very often they have only put aside the problems. Learning to listen to China and understanding the need to bring people out of poverty in a sustainable way is the first important step to ensure that we can focus on real solutions to global challenges.

As Xi noted, the challenge is also on the Chinese side, where many people, especially those with little experience of actually working with foreigners, think that China is so special and unique that no one from the outside can understand it. It is true that China is special and unique, but so are all countries in the world. No person, Chinese or foreigner, can fully understand China in all its aspects. With 5,000 years of cultural history, even the most knowledgeable scholar will only know a very small portion of China.

The arrogance of some foreigners, especially Westerners, should, however, not be used as an excuse for dismissing everyone outside China as not capable of understanding China. In the same way, people from China can help provide a fresh eye on the rest of the world, people from other parts of the world can provide important ideas and solutions that will have significant implication for how China will develop. So it is very true that "China needs to learn more about the world".

Beside the clear signal regarding dialogue, the new leadership also continued and strengthened China's commitment to environmental considerations. Instead of approaching care for the planet as an add-on, it was made clear that environmental, social, cultural and economic development must be seen as equal and integral parts as we move forward.

The fact that we only have one planet with limited resources might seem obvious. Still the global community largely ignores the fact that ecology is the base for life and economy is only a tool. With a scientific approach, China can provide important inspiration and guidance as the world is developing a framework based on science and equity, and also contribute to an economy for the planet and all people.

Here are two examples of possible areas for discussions based on ideas from the 18th Party congress.

First, there is a possibility to combine a scientific approach, global environmental care and equity in order to create tools for the 21st century. An example of such a tool could be called a "9 billion filter for innovation and business development". This tool would help the world focus on the kind of solutions that 9 billion people can use without destroying the planet. Many Western countries talk about green solutions, but often these are just solutions that make unsustainable systems slightly less unsustainable.

All major international negotiations and large businesses could use such a tool to help develop the kind of solutions that the world needs. Such a tool could also inspire initiatives such as a global luxury tax. The current trend among some of the rich to spend their money on luxury that is unsustainable and not supporting innovation needs to be challenged.

Based on such a scientific approach, sustainable innovation tax on luxury goods could be introduced on goods that do not pass the "9 billion" filter. For example, luxury handbags and jewelry could have a 100 percent tax that is used to reinvest in solutions for the poor. But if companies can demonstrate that their luxury goods will help develop solutions for everyone they would get a lower luxury tax. For example, a smart house with LED lights and smart appliances that help bring lighting and improves the indoor air quality for the rural poor.

Such a tool could help trigger discussion on the kind of lifestyle that society should encourage and what kind of inequity is acceptable. It could also help increase a global dialogue about the responsibility for rich people and companies to help address the global challenges.

Second, a scientific approach could help establish a global risk and opportunity indicator. Today there is no scientific mechanism that can identify global threats and identify the opportunities that can help deliver solutions. As the world becomes more integrated, such a mechanism could help facilitate a dialogue and collaboration based on global citizenship. There is already initial data available that could help create such an indicator, and China's scientific approach could help ensure that it becomes a credible reality.

These are just two examples of possibilities based on the messages from the 18th Party congress. Let us now move forward in the spirit of dialogue.

Permutation City, by Greg Egan

Another really good science fiction, with emphasis on science, from Greg Egan. I can’t stress enough how good it feels to read a fiction novel where the author does not use fiction as an excuse for being sloppy with the fact/science. If you like me are often frustrated when reading science fiction and want to stop and ask how things work in the world you reading about Egan is an author for you. He gives answers, interesting answers. I have to admit that I think the first part was a lot better than the second part, as I would found myself asking a lot questions about the new universe and how the different parts related to each other. I thought there would be a follow-up book, maybe it will be, but today there is not. So the new species are still there to be explored. I also think it was a little easy way out of the “eternal life” dilemma and the possibilities/challenges in a world where you can copy and start your own world/history whenever you like.

The first parts where the digital copies lives are discussed and presented are very inspiring and many of the challenges already exist relation to data we upload in today’s society. How fast can we update ourselves, what happen when we lose speed, is there a way out of the downward spiral. If Greg would spend some more time on the fundamental ethical issues it would probably be even better, but I’m not sure. What I do know is that I hope that he will keep on writing science fiction, where the science part is explored with the same curiosity and joy as in the two books I have read (the other one is Diaspora).