China and the Politics of Climate Change

An interesting article about the role of China in climate change just came out in YaleGlobal Online. It explains that China could soon surpass the US as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases. China can invoke several reasons to postpone taking action: its historical role in world pollution is minor compared to the US and Europe, its per-capita emissions remain far below those of advanced industrial countries, and the increase of its emissions is related to the production of goods destined to Western markets. At the same time, China knows that it must become a stronger player in this debate if it wants a shot at shaping the elaboration of future binding norms. However, according to the article, “only when the governments of the US and other big established polluters show that they are serious about tackling climate change can China and other large emerging polluters be expected to follow with their own stringent measures.” The world would obviously benefit from a cleaner environment, but as usual in politics the issue is how to attribute responsibility and distribute the cost.

Reforming French Higher Education

One of the big issues with which the Sarkozy presidency will have to deal is the reform of the French higher education system. Although it used to be praised for its intellectuals, today France does poorly by international standards. In the 2006 Shanghai Jiao Tong University world academic ranking, the first French university listed is the University of Paris 6 at rank 45, followed by the University of Paris 11 (rank 64), the University of Strasbourg 1 (rank 96), and the prestigious École normale supérieure (rank 99). The ranking is dominated by American universities.

Everyone agrees on the fact that a reform is needed. But what reform and how to implement it, those are the questions. Former adviser of President Mitterrand and eternal intellectual jet setter Jacques Attali raises interesting points on his blog and advocates the creation of a National Agency of Evaluation that would assess the performance of French universities and distribute moneys accordingly.

Although such an agency could play a positive role, it is always striking to see that the French cannot conceive of any solution to societal problems without a top-down intervention of the state. Furthermore, how can we make sure that this agency will not be used for either political or clientelist purposes? Who will monitor the monitors? But before we even get there, any reform needs to include the teachers’ and students’ unions to avoid a national paralysis, as former Education Ministers Claude Allègre and Luc Ferry faced the last time the government tried to reform higher education. In other words, what Attali completely overlooks, as many technocrats, is the politics of reform. Having nice blueprints helps, but it’s seldom enough.

Picturing Anti-G8 Protests

Events like the G8 draw a lot of media attention. That’s a great opportunity for activists: protesting against the G8 offers visibility, more than most groups will ever get during the year. Here are some pictures: