Overview

The quasi-general acceptance of the IPCC paradigm is part of a broader phenomenon. Green causes have turned into a secular religion, the blessings of which should of course not be reserved for the Western World alone, but should be extended to our poorer fellow men elsewhere in the world. Unfortunately they are loath to accept what we think is best for them. But it does not stop us from prodding them.

In the Third World, however, the hostility against eco-imperialism from the West is growing. This eco-imperialism in practised both by western governments and western NGOs. In international trade negotiations, for instance, western governments urge the developing countries to adopt high environmental standards, based on the argument that the playing field of worldwide competition must be level. Developing countries reject these standards as a luxury they cannot afford. In their current stage of economic development, growth comes first.

But besides governments, NGOs play an important role. Deepak Lal, an economist of Indian descent, who teaches development studies in the US, compares the behaviour of western NGOs, such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund, with the proselytic zeal of western missionaries in the past. He sees environmental radicalism as a modern secular Christian crusade, which has replaced the saving of souls for the saving of spaceship Earth. In his view, their primary goal is to prevent the economic development. Therefore, he argues that green radicalism needs to be fiercely resisted, because only economic development offers the world s poor any...