SIX: THE TRANSITION TO A SUSTAINABLE PLANET.

i) The Stages in the Transition to a Sustainable Planet.

There are a number of stages involved in moving from the current situation where every country around the world is dumping huge quantities of Carbon into the atmosphere and relentlessly ransacking its Forests, to a situation where these activities are strictly controlled for the sake of creating a sustainable Planet and maintaining climatic stability.

I: The Establishment of an Earth party and Provisional Carbon Accounts.

Once all Green parties around the world had agreed on the nature of a sustainable Planet, they would have to set up an Earth party to carry out preliminary work on a global Carbon audit, a global Carbon budget and national/regional Carbon budgets.

II: The Adoption of National Carbon Budgets.

The creation of a provisional, global Carbon budget and national Carbon budgets would require Green parties in each country to re-evaluate their national policies. The English Green party would have to re-examine its policies in the mfss (and policy proposals) in terms of their Carbon costs. It should then discard those which would exceed its national Carbon budget. However, Green parties would not need to implement provisional Carbon budgets. They would do so only after the creation of a New Ecological order - after all, why should any one Green party make the sacrifices entailed by implementing such a budget if Green parties in other countries were not in a position to implement their own Carbon budgets? However, local, and national, parties should make the necessary political and policy preparations for the eventual adoption of Carbon costed policies derived from a global Carbon budget drawn up under the New Ecological Order. There is, however, an incentive for Green parties to implement as many Carbon-costed policies as possible even before the establishment of the New Ecological Order. Any reductions in a countries' Carbon debts would be taken into account when the official global Carbon budget is eventually established. Green parties should also prepare plans for the location of the Forest, Wilderness, and regional Wood economy, zones.

III: The Establishment of a World Government and the Official Global Carbon Budget.

As soon as Green parties around the world have attained power in their own countries they should set up a world government to replace the Earth party. The world government would create a global scientific council which would build on the work of the Earth party to draw up an official global Carbon audit and an official global Carbon budget.

IV: The Creation of a New Ecological Order.

Once a global Carbon budget had been determined it would be necessary for the over-industrialized nations and third world countries to reach an agreement about their national Carbon budgets i.e. how much each country should contribute to the global Carbon budget. National Carbon budgets should be based on the principle of balancing historical Carbon budgets which would require the over-industrialized nations to pay off their historical Carbon debts whilst allowing third world countries to spend their historical Carbon credits by developing their industries in order to eradicate poverty. Once an agreement had been reached between the over-industrialized nations and the third world (represented by Green governments in each country) this would inaugurate a New Ecological order. The world government would monitor the implementation of national Carbon budgets.

V: The Founding of a Sustainable Planet.

The world government would then begin preparations for the foundation of a Sustainable Planet i.e. the global eco-constitution, the global bill of Earth rights etc.. Each country would establish its tripartite geophysiological zones and each government would draw up regional Carbon budgets to balance its historical Carbon budget. Although the global agreement to balance national Carbon budgets would constitute the start of the New Ecological order, and although there would be a foundation for a sustainable Planet, a geophysiologically sustainable Planet would come into existence only after each country had balanced its historical Carbon budget.

VI: The Maintenance of a Sustainable Planet.

Once all countries around the world had eventually balanced their Carbon budgets (and this could take quite a number of decades because some countries have huge Carbon debts) all that would be left to do would be to maintain a sustainable Planet. A global Carbon budget would continue to operate on the basis of justice between all countries but it would no longer be necessary for national governments to create regional Carbon budgets. The following sections will look at some of these stages in the transition to a sustainable Planet in more detail.

ii) A New Ecological Order: Repaying Historical Carbon Debts.

I: The Global Politics of Global Warming.

It has been pointed out above that since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the over-industrialized nations have dumped far more Carbon into the atmosphere than they have absorbed through Photosynthesis and are historical Carbon debtors, whilst third world countries have imported far more Carbon than they have exported and are historical Carbon creditors. Third world countries will never be persuaded to co-operate in preventing a global warming disaster unless it is recognized that since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the over-industrialized nations have released far more Carbon into the atmosphere and have destroyed a far greater proportion of their Forests than third world countries. The over-industrialized nations have made the biggest contribution to global warming and, correspondingly, it is they who must take primary responsibility for combating this growing ecological disaster. The third world will play its supporting role only if the over industrialized nations restore the damage they have inflicted on the Planet's global Carbon cycle during the industrial revolution. But why, it might be asked, should the over-industrialized nations take responsibility for the ecological damage they have caused over the last couple of hundred years? The answer is that half the Carbon released during the industrial revolution is still in the atmosphere. Whilst it is impossible for the over-industrialized nations to rectify the centuries old political injustices they have perpetrated against third world countries, they cannot escape their historical responsibilities for boosting global warming. The over-industrialized nations' crimes against the Planet are not dead and buried in the long distant past like so many imperialist crimes but are omnipresent and about to take their toll not merely on present but on future generations. The over-industrialized nations have been sponging off the third world's ecology for centuries and if this is not stopped there will be a global ecological breakdown.

II: The Basis of a Global Agreement over Global Warming.

A global agreement to combat global warming is possible only on a just and equitable basis i.e. in which the different contribution each country has made to global warming since the start of the industrial revolution is taken into account. The basis of global ecological equity is that each country must balance its historical Carbon budget by importing as much carbon (through Reforestation) as it has released since the beginning of the industrial revolution. The global scientific council should be given responsibility not only for drawing up a global Carbon audit and a global Carbon budget, but for determining each country's historical Carbon status. If no agreement can be reached between the over-industrialized world and the third world as to how much each country should reduce its Carbon emissions and increase its Forest cover, then every country around the world will continue polluting the atmosphere and deforesting the Earth until there is a global ecological collapse - and, on present trends, this collapse could happen within the next three decades. The only way to create a sustainable green world is through a global agreement about a global Carbon budget in which there is global ecological justice for all countries. This global agreement will be the start of a New Ecological Order.

III: The Start of a Sustainable Planet; Balancing Carbon Budgets.

In order to achieve global ecological justice, the global scientific council would have to calculate short, medium and long term, global Carbon budgets to ensure that countries balanced their Carbon budgets. Balancing Carbon budgets would not be easy either for the Carbon debtors or the Carbon creditors. The historical Carbon debtors would not be expected to repay their Carbon debts at such a rapid rate that they would have to Reforest their entire country and would be prevented from releasing any further Carbon emissions. And the historical Carbon creditors would not be expected to spend their Carbon credits all at once thereby giving an enormous boost to atmospheric Carbon emissions. The global scientific council would work out a feasible rate at which each Carbon debtor country had to Reforest its land and at which Carbon creditor countries could spend their surplus Carbon. There is a degree of injustice in this since it would stop third world countries from spending their Carbon surplus in an orgy of industrial development but, the fact is, the over-industrialized nations are crippling the Planet's life support system and if third world countries are not careful they will deliver the fatal blow. Third world countries wouldn't mind slowing down the rate of their development as long as they knew their surplus was 'in the bank' and could eventually be spent and that the Carbon debtors would have to eventually pay off their Carbon debts.

iii) Transitional National Policies.

It has been pointed out that even if the Earth party had been created and worked out a provisional global Carbon budget and provisional national Carbon budgets for each country, it still wouldn't be necessary for national green parties to advocate, or green governments to implement, polices aimed at achieving a balanced Carbon budget. The implementation of national Carbon budgets would become compulsory only after the establishment of a world government and the New Ecological order. However, it has also been pointed out that preparations for this eventuality could be made in the meantime. Below are the main transitional policies for moving towards a national, balanced Carbon budget in England. It is already possible to put some rough figures to some of these policies to give an indication of the scale of the changes needed although it wouldn't be possible to be precise until the world government had calculated the official Carbon budget.

I: Reforestation.

In order to soak up the country's net Carbon emissions since the industrial revolution, the Green party should demand a massive Reforestation project covering at least 75% of the country.

II: Combating Cars.

The car, and car related, industries are some of the biggest Carbon polluters, and some of the most ecologically destructive industries, in the country and steps should be taken to reduce the contribution these industries are making to global warming.

III: Combating Kids.

The over-population problem is worse in this country than in third world countries because most, although not all, children have such a huge impact on the country's Carbon budget. Attempts should be made to reduce population as much as possible. There will also be a need to reinforce immigration controls - there are far too many people of white descent being allowed into this country e.g. south africans, americans, canadians and australians, etc. Demands for immigration controls should be made only in conjunction with reassurances to those already living in this country that their positions are not under any threat. Immigration controls would be exercised by regional, not national, authorities

IV: The Abolition of the Animal Exploitation Industry.

The animal exploitation industry is one of the major causes of the country's Carbon debts but whereas the numbers of cars and kids can be reduced gradually, there is a need to carry out the immediate abolition of the animal exploitation industry. The only reason to move cautiously on this issue is to prevent the rise of poaching.

V: Combating Capital.

The mining of the Earth's capital resources, the capital construction industry and the accumulation of money, are all major contributors to the country's Carbon debts. The use of fossil fuels should be made increasingly difficult as wood resources come on stream. There should be a complete ban on all greenfield construction projects whether this is for the construction of new schools, new hospitals, or new housing estates. There may well be a need for new construction projects but these would be allowed to take place only on old industrial sites or on sites which are currently being occupied by the car industry e.g. car parks. All developments will be concentrated into urban areas and the countryside with its 'commuter dormitories' will be run down by requiring householders to pay the full economic costs of gas, electricity water, and sewage supplies. The country's motorways will be converted into railway lines - there should be no new railway lines cutting their away across what is left of the countryside.

VI: Combating Carnage.

The military industrial complex is another source of the country's large Carbon debts and once again efforts should be made to reduce these debts. All military training areas will be converted to forests.

VII: The Country is Full-Up.

This country has enormous historical Carbon debts which will have to be paid off in the transition to a sustainable Planet. There are too many people, having too many kids, driving too many cars, earning too much money, owning too many houses. England is not a developed countr; it is a grossly over-developed country. It is not an industrialized country; it is a grossly over-industrialized country. Quite simply the country is full up. For the sake of creating global justice and a sustainable Planet the country has got to start de-industrializing and deconstructing its biggest Carbon polluting industries. If this country does not, then all other countries will demand the right to pollute the atmosphere and mine their Forests as much as this country and there WILL INEVITABLY BE A GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL DISASTER.