Allow
me to begin this post with a disclosure of my interests, articulated
almost a month before Putin's order for the invasion of Ukraine. I
asserted that warmongering stands as the gravest offense within the
realm of academic conduct https://19-pacheco-torgal-19.blogspot.com/2022/01/a-mais-grave-infraccao-academica-que.htm
With
this caveat in mind and reflecting on numerous prior posts where my
profound disdain for Putin was unmistakable—posts which have, for
instance, contributed to a decline in Russian visitors to this
platform as discussed in a post of December 25—it is now
imperative, given recent developments, to reassess Putin's
egregiously criminal deeds from an alternate standpoint.
Recently,
Bettina Stark-Watzinger, the German Minister of Education, asserted
the necessity for German schools to ready children for the
prospect of war. The backdrop to this assertion is the looming
specter of war with Russia. Indeed, yesterday, the President of
the European Council articulated that peace in Europe hinges on the
populace's preparedness for war. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/03/19/if-we-want-peace-we-must-prepare-for-war/
While
I maintain skepticism regarding the likelihood of a war between Germany and Russia, I acknowledge the significance of
psychological preparedness for the eventuality of war. The
inevitability of such a scenario underscores the urgency of priming
the next generations accordingly.
When
a senior official of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, publicly states that his grandson, reaching 31 in
2050, may be forced to engage in conflict over fundamental
resources, we must confront the sobering reality of imminent war—a war between this Planet and humanity.
If
projections hold true and half of our planet becomes uninhabitable,
as asserted by a prominent Oxford professor, we face the displacement
of hundreds of millions of individuals. Indeed, the Zurich Insurance
Group estimates this figure to reach a staggering 1.2 billion by
2050.
Drawing
upon analyses of a climate refugee settlement model presented in the International Journal of Climate
Change Strategies and Management, which delineates the moral
obligations of the 20 most polluting nations regarding climate refugees, it becomes evident that a single European nation, Germany,
could be tasked with accommodating around 72 million climate refugees (US is obligated to accommodate 120 million climate refugees). The climate refugee settlement model prioritizes per capita CO2 emissions with a 60% weight, followed by ecological footprint at 20%. The remaining 20% is equally divided between per capita GNI and HDI, each contributing 10%.
While there exists no mechanism to compel polluting nations to accept these climate refugees, certain academics posit that the repercussions of climate change are tantamount to acts of war by rich countries against poor countries. Consequently, the latter may, in an act of self-defense, resort to terrorist actions against the polluting industries of the former. Thus, rich nations are left with a stark choice: either recognizing their moral culpability and embracing accountability for their actions, or bracing themselves for the consequences of warranted retaliatory attacks.
PS - The preceding context aids in gaining a deeper comprehension of the subject discussed last month https://19-pacheco-torgal-19.blogspot.com/2024/02/moral-obligations-of-university.html
