Harper Urges ‘Enlightened’ Foreign Policy, But Faces Criticism On Climate

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is calling on world leaders to embrace an “enlightened sovereignty” that puts the global good ahead of each country’s immediate self-interest. 

But within minutes of introducing the idea Thursday in a major foreign policy speech at the Davos World Economic Forum, Harper had to fend off suggestions that he’s being short-sighted on climate change.

Countries don’t commit to hard targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions for a very good reason, he told a roundtable discussion with other leaders – because such action has “very significant impacts on the economy” of each country.

“There are real serious tradeoffs to be made with economic imperatives in the short term.

“We all blame each other for not dealing adequately on climate change, when all every country is trying to do is simply deal with the very real impacts these measures could have on jobs and economic growth. The legitimacy of that concern has to be acknowledged.”

Other leaders quickly responded that adapting to climate change can actually make a country’s economy grow, if handled correctly. And even if there is a cost to some parts of the economy, it’s a price worth paying, they argued.

“There’s nothing that leads us to believe it would cause lower economic growth,” said Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero, seated near Harper before an audience of business executives, other politicians and renowned thinkers.

Without a concerted effort to find ways to cut emissions “our future is very dark,” Zapatero said.

The leaders on stage with Harper suggested that putting the economy before environment is too short-sighted – exactly the kind of approach he criticized in his keynote speech.

In that speech, Harper said that when it comes to dealing with banking regulations or currency valuations or protectionist measures, countries need to ignore the short-term costs and think only of the long-term benefits.

Countries belonging to the G20, he said, need to make sure their discussions are “less about narrow self-interest in sovereignty’s name.”

Instead, he called for “an expanded view of mutual interest, in which there is room for all to grow and prosper. Enlightened sovereignty, then – the natural extension of enlightened self-interest.”

Harper warned other G20 leaders that the very body that eased the world out of recession could fail unless countries put their differences aside.

“The G20 will stand or fall on its ability to demonstrate in the months to come the same co-operative spirit it has shown over the past year,” he said in the speech meant to set the tone for the G20 and G8 summits Canada will host in June.

Economists have become increasingly concerned as countries go off in all directions in their efforts to crack down on banking practices. And the banking sector was out in full force at the Davos meeting, arguing that stricter rules could undermine the fragile economic recovery.

In his speech, Harper highlighted Canada’s banking regulations as striking the right balance between controlling bad behaviour and allowing financial institutions freedom to grow. But the bickering and the disjointed approach of world authorities has to stop, he said.

“In fact, if inadequate regulation is not addressed, I believe the consequences could actually be worse than before this crisis.”

As for the G8, Harper reiterated that he will make maternal and child health care in developing countries a top priority. The summit will also address nuclear weapons, terrorism and piracy, he added.

Harper skimmed over the importance of climate change at the summits – a topic his own officials have acknowledged will have to play a central role at both the G20 and G8 summits. The prime minister made only one mention of it in his speech.

Previous G20 summits have committed countries to finding tens of billions of dollars to finance adaptation efforts that will inevitably be required in developing countries. And the G8 – now that it has ceded its role in economics to the G20 – will increasingly become focused on environmental and security concerns.

The federal Liberals said Harper’s approach to climate change was far from “enlightened.”

“Mr. Harper has not earned a reputation for ‘enlightenment’ on the international stage,” said Scott Brison, the Liberals’ international trade critic who was also at the Davos conference.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Harper was making excuses for not targeting climate change.

Still, Harper won praise at the Davos meeting.

Klaus Schwab, the economist who is behind the storied conference, went out of his way to highlight the “resilience and soundness” of Canada’s banks.

Philanthropist Bill Gates thanked Harper for his plan to throw G8 resources at maternal and child health in developing countries.

And former U.S. president Bill Clinton singled out Canadians’ response to the Haiti earthquake, and partly credited Ottawa’s offer to match personal donations dollar for dollar.

“It has been unbelievable. First, the Canadian people are so generous,” Clinton said. “I’ll bet you on a per capita basis, they’re number one in the world now in helping Haiti.”

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