Realising that the heart of climate change elicited divergent climate policy responses from the world, the response from oil multinationals. must be understood because this may provide where the strategic geopolitics is going.
She focussed her talk tracing the events beginning in 1997, when the oil industry was rent by a split between two breakaway companies, British Petroleum and Royal Dutch/Shell, who advocated for precautionary action on climate change. Amog the rest, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Texaco persevered their denial of the climate problem and opposition to international and domestic greenhouse gas regulation.
The issues discussed by her were having much larger canvas of form and functions of corporate globalisation. While doing this she classified pollution causing climate change in two categories-- Pollution from industrial processes and pollution from industrial products. Also, she tried to understand climate change debate focussing on hard and soft technologies contributing to the GHGs.
While throwing some light on corporate decision making patterns, she treated Economic models and Social models distinctly. In former, market pressure plays vital role while in latter uncertanlty of the future and informal networks plays a major role.
A comparative analysis of ExxonMobil, British Petroleum and Royal Dutch/Shell`s climate policy decision-making reveals that oil company interests on climate change were not dictated by operational characteristics and market forces. Rather the climate policy split in the oil industry was a result of the different scientific, regulatory, and societal networks in which the companies` leaders were embedded. This suggests the importance of information strategies in greening corporate behavior.
The war between these two corporate giants has clue to our bigger question that how far it will take to complete the promises the world has given in Quoto summit. The extent of lucrative, but pollutive resources of fossil fuel, the government regulatory policies and pressure built up by NGOs and civil socities will play a major role in coming days to create the much needed driving force to influence the cliamte change progress ahead.
Another lady who arrested the minds of JNU students in last twenty four hours is Dr. Janet Hunter who is currently Professor of Economic History in London School of Economics. She resonated our minds with the tune of 'Industrial Economy of Japan before and after first-second worrld wars.' This was primarily sketched by narrating the Japan and it`s relationship with it`s erstwhile colonies, Taiwan, Korea, parts of Manchuria etc.Japan was heavily dependent on it`s colonies for the natural and other resources. When all the world banned the trade with it during and after the world war II, the colonies helped to sustain Japanese economy. After world war II, during the decade of 1970s Japan started to jump in it`s economic strength such that it began to influence the policy making of other countries due to it`s shear power inherent in economic aid and trade surplus.
The interesting revealations from Dr. Jenet came when I asked her about the sources of entrepreneurship in Japanese people. She contemplated for a while and then said that primarily after the end of the world war, Japanese society was strongly eyeing for indegenous development of technology and production leading towards wealth creation.
Eventhough it is true that, nationalist and altruistic spirit has contributed to the entreprenuerial spirit of Japanese citizens, but it should not be denied that adverse natural condition and strong urge of economic incentives also paid the role of driving force behind creating new age of innovative life.
She also said that polciies of occupation by US forces for many years after world war paved the way for greater economic and intellectual cooperation between these two countries. She cited legendary example of Dr. Deming who was great Statistian of that age, and was instrumental in establishing the Total Quality Management techniques in Japanese planning and management practises.
She concluded by saying that "Entrepreneurship interests me greatly, and Japan's ability to provide it historically remains conspicuous."
It was sweet coincidence, The Economist in it`s fresh issues has published a special report on Entrepreneurship.
The link is http://www.economist.com/
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