Americas

The recently-appointed United Nations' special envoy for climate change Ricardo Lagos said the stalemate on what to do about this environmental crisis after 2012 has to end.

"We have to break the deadlock," he said, alluding to very concrete proposals about what to do after the Kyoto Accord expires in 2012 has to end.

Speaking in Ottawa on Sunday, Mr. Lagos said the two positions on climate change–"I will not sign because you're not there," and "I will not sign because, historically, the responsibility is yours,"–have to end, adding that there has been enough finger-pointing.

Mr. Lagos, a former Chilean president, has definite views on climate change. Refuting the argument coming from the developing countries–of the responsibility not being theirs–Mr. Lagos pointed out that emerging countries should realize the advantage of arriving later: how new technologies bring the possibility of growth and development in a way compatible with a better use of resources, alternative resources, and renewable energy.

Since leaving office in 2006, amidst very high approval ratings and being credited with consolidating Chile's economic growth, stability and democracy, Mr. Lagos has kept himself busy.

On top of his new post as UN climate change envoy, he is president of the Madrid Club, an organization focussed on promoting "democracies that deliver," with 70 democratically-elected former heads of state and governments amongst its membership.

Speaking with Embassy during a short stop in Canada organized by the Embassy of Chile, Mr. Lagos discussed the renewed commitment between Canada and Chile through a strategic partnership.

Not surprisingly, he pointed to our shared values and similar ways of seeing the world and defining the society we would like to build, with democracy and respect for human rights as cornerstones. He elaborated on the combination of market economy and social policies that would ensure that the benefits of growth reach everybody, a subject very dear to the former president.

In a pedagogical tone, Mr. Lagos spoke of how the "trickle down" effects of growth might happen in the long-run, demanding social policies "with capital 'P'" that cannot wait and without which the distribution of benefits would be uneven.

"In a market economy, we are consumers, and our capacity to purchase is different. It depends on the size of your pocket and my pocket, it will be uneven, it has to be," said Mr. Lagos, gesturing with his hands for emphasis. "But social policies are defined by parliaments, we are all citizens, and equals as such: one vote each. Social policies represent what the majority of a particular society thinks about the public goods, which ones should be made available to all."

Democracy, said Mr Lagos, is the way by which each of us can have our voices heard. Democracy is not only about elections, but it is also the only way to define the public goods affordable for each particular society. Mr. Lagos clarified the point by stating that the concept of the public good is a dynamic one, as a country increases its wealth and the economy is going well, then much more of those goods and services have to be made available to everybody. In a democracy there is accountability. When a government does not deliver, people will not vote for the incumbent in the next election.

For the former president, these reflections are not a theoretical exercise. The awareness of the importance of attracting investment to create growth and how this can be translated into job creation and poverty alleviation and of how sound macro-economics, good governance and the rule of law are essential for implementing effective social policies, were clearly reflected through his six years in office.

"In Chile, we have learned that when you're having the good times, something has to be saved for the bad times that will come later," said Mr. Lagos, speaking of Chile today, with its current influx of money given the high copper prices, and how this creates rising expectations. Administering the new resources responsibly requires guts, argued Mr. Lagos, and President Michelle Bachelet is doing the difficult things.

"It is the only way," he said.

Now that he is out of the presidential office, Mr. Lagos said he feels he has more freedom to talk. Asked about what he and his colleagues from the Madrid Club can do, he said they bring some knowledge and experience to the world stage, which can be useful, adding quickly, that the responsibilities rest in the active governments. He quoted an example of how knowledge of a subject enhances their contributions: at the club's general assembly last year, they set up a special group to discuss post-Kyoto options; of the 12 members working on that committee, six had been either a prime minister or president at the time of the agreement, and knew first-hand what the negotiations entailed.

Mr. Lagos marks his words as he highlights the value of ideas and of thought. Throughout the entire conversation, he somehow makes his ideas sound so simple. Maybe all his political success–after the dark hour of the Pinochet dictatorship–has told him that seemingly impossible things can be done.