By Leslie Misson
Gazprom, a large state-owned Russian enterprise that extracts petroleum products from Siberia, has largely replaced Western European markets for Siberian natural gas and oil with markets in India and in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).
Gazprom profits have allowed the Russian state to finance its war against the current Ukrainian regime.
However, the volume of Gazprom sales to the PRC may eventually decline because of the PRC’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions. The seriousness of this commitment was emphasized in an April 19 New York Times article by Jacob Dreyer, entitled “Xi Thinks China Can Slow Climate Change. What if he’s right?”
Climate activists have often pointed out that militarism is a major source of carbon emissions. The US military was, and probably remains, the largest single institutional source of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Furthermore, as journalist Anny Oberlink wrote in her 2022 article, “Military Organizations Produce Significant Amounts of Unreported Greenhouse Gases,” governments are using a loophole in the Paris Agreement to not report emissions from military sources.
Continuation and possible escalation of the war in Ukraine is insured by the recent US Congressional allocation of $61 billion for the military forces of the Ukrainian regime.
It thus appears that Western governments, which claim to lead the world in curbing carbon emissions are, in fact, escalating the climate catastrophe.
Western ruling circles, including the German Greens, seem to prefer fossil-fueled extinction or decimation of humanity if the alternative is a Russian victory in Ukraine.
Support socialist media!
If you found this article useful, please consider donating to People’s Voice or purchasing a subscription so that you get every issue of Canada’s leading socialist publication delivered to your door or inbox!
For over 100 years, we have been 100% reader-supported, with no corporate or government funding.
