All rights reserved. By Maria Livanos Cattaui, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce Paris - That wondrous image of Planet Earth wreathed in clouds that so moved the early astronauts has a lesson for the global climate change conference in The Hague. From out in space, you can see the physical reality of continents and oceans but the man-made patchwork of national borders is invisible.
Frontiers shrink to no more than a human conceit.
But the frontiers are real enough, even if the weather and the pollution do not recognize them. The governments that hold sway within those borders are the movers and shakers in The Hague, trying to argue their way to agreement on how to stop global warming. Their great challenge will be to see the world as the astronauts see it, for whatever they decide will be futile unless it ultimately encompasses the entire globe. Pursuit of national interest will have to be reconciled with the global interest in reducing greenhouse emissions. What matters for the planet's health is the total amount of greenhouse gases that are being pumped into the atmosphere rather than where they are generated.