Page 17 - MYM 2016

The outcome of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) got me thrilled and inspired. A er 40 years of battle between believers and non-believers, nally the believers
won. ey persuaded everyone that the world is in real danger, and that we must act collectively. Paris got all the nations, big and small, together to sign
on a legally binding agreement to protect the planet from impending climate disaster. Every day I feel like thanking all the activists who have gone through an uphill task to convince political leaders, businesses, and ordinary people, year a er year to show the writing on the wall. Many took it as their lifelong campaign to bring the nations to their senses. Cit- izens who were on the sidelines gradually became activists. ey voted for political candidates who supported climate action. Political parties started get- ting elected to power because they are green.
I see Paris as a victory of the people, led by com- mitted activists who never gave up campaigning
for their cause. During the Paris conference, over 785,000 people marched at 2,300 events in 175 coun- tries, united in one voice calling for a 100% clean energy future to save everything they love. Normally we expect governments to mobilize public opinion behind their actions. In the case of global warming, it was the reverse. It is the citizens of the world who mobilized their governments.
Paris inspires me to believe that this kind of citizen’s movement can make the world ready to overcome another impending disaster looming on the horizon. is has been a hot subject in politics for ages. Many powerful movements have been
created, many ambitious initiatives have been under- taken over centuries to address this problem. Much blood has been shed over this issue. But not only does it not go away, it gets more threatening than ever. is is the problem of the ever-exploding gap in private wealth. It keeps on growing locally, nationally, and globally. As the economy grows, the concen- tration of private wealth gets worse. e faster the rate of growth, the faster the rate of concentration of wealth. is is dangerous because it destroys peace and harmony; it threatens human rights and democ- racy. It pushes the world towards social explosions each worse than the previous ones. It triggers armed con icts among nations.
oxfam updates on Wealth concentration
Oxfam has been giving us horrifying updates on wealth concentration each year. is year they tell us that the 62 richest people own more wealth than the bottom half of the world population. In 2015 they reported that it was the 80 richest people, and in 2014, the 85 richest people who owned more wealth than the bottom half. In 2010, six years back, it was the 388 richest people who had the pleasure of owning similar wealth. Oxfam also told us that wealth of the 80 richest people doubled in the ve years between 2009 and 2014.
Oxfam has a terrifying projection for 2016. During the current year, they projected, the rich- est 1% of the world will own more wealth than the bottom 99% of the world’s population. at means that the total wealth of 99% of the population of the
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The global threat of wealth concentration worsens each passing day: it has already entered the danger zone this year with 99% of wealth going to 1% of people. It is greater than the individual; a wealth gap between nations creates a threat to peace. The time has come to recognize the gravity of the situation and take actions against it. We can take as inspiration the international consensus on
global warming, since it arises from the same root: a awed economic framework based on human greed. Since we have created both problems, we can also undo both, by reinventing ourselves in the economic world as caring and sharing human beings to create a world of three zeros: zero poverty, zero unemployment, and zero net carbon emission.