G20 in New Delhi, BRICS summit, African climate summit in Nairobi, how can these international summits influence and shape the world of tomorrow? For sociologist Jean Viard, the big social question is Europe and Africa.
The major international summits – the G20 which ends this Sunday September 10 in New Delhi, in recent days, the first African climate summit in Kenya, in Nairobi, that of the BRICS too, the emerging countries, at the end of August in South Africa South – do they have a concrete influence on the future of our world? This is the social question that sociologist Jean Viard deciphers.
franceinfo: Are these summits shaping the world of tomorrow?
Jean Viard: In part, yes. We have entered a period, basically, multipolar, where the West remains technically, scientifically, extremely powerful. But we can clearly see that there are countries like China, which are also becoming very powerful. And then there are large population universes like Africa, which will soon have 2 and a half billion inhabitants, which is economically much weaker, but considerable in terms of population. So all this leads to renegotiations.
We are in a period where we know that we all have something in common, which is to save humanity, in the face of the evolution of the climate and nature, because it is not just the climate that poses problem, but also all the questions of ecosystems. And then, on the other side, indeed, we remain economic competitors and also competitors, in terms of value. And so, there are all these issues at play. It’s like tectonic plates that are articulated and colliding.
When we look behind us, faced with this state of affairs, we see that these international summits are having difficulty moving forward. There, the UN climate has already said that the climate ambitions of the G20 members are sadly inadequate and do not address crucial issues. And there are countless COPs that have been disappointing. Should we persevere in this way, because there is still a form of admission of failure?
No, I wouldn’t say it like that. We are in periods of negotiations, so inevitably, we say no, there is fire, be careful – when we saw what happened this summer, in Canada or in Greece, it is monstrous. So nature is moving faster than our predictions. And so, indeed, the fact that the world is in the process of disorganizing itself in the balance that we had known, and that we are largely responsible for it, if not totally responsible, I believe that we are moving forward in this idea.
So afterwards, it’s a battle of pressure, including the UN, because the UN Secretary General is very forthcoming on these issues. He is very feisty, he is absolutely right. But it’s not because we want to put pressure that nothing happens. Look what happened in Africa in Kenya. It is still the first time that Africans have raised the question of global warming themselves, based on their territories and their own problems. So, I see these things happening.
This climate summit in Kenya, which resulted in the Nairobi Declaration on Wednesday with the African countries participating. A declaration to realize the continent’s potential for green growth. In your opinion, is this where the future of the world and all balances are at stake?
The future of Europe is very much at stake in its commitment or not vis-à-vis Africa. There will be 2.5 billion inhabitants in Africa, and 450 million in Europe. And we know very well that major migratory phenomena are first of all very close. First, we go to the next country. So the links are pretty much there. We have little influence on the transformation of India, we can have agreements. For us, the big question is Europe and Africa. And I find that we do not do much at this level. Or on old political methods that everyone can see, but which are rather catastrophic.
The Chinese and Russian presidents are not participating in the G20 this weekend. On the other hand, they participated in the BRICS summit, the emerging, non-aligned countries, which will now host six more nations, including Iran. These summits tell us a lot about the progress of the world which was turned upside down with the war in Ukraine, all these balances, this regional competition?
But of course, and including that to oppose the West, we call into question the values of democracy. And then it’s true that there’s the rise of authoritarian regimes, but that’s how the world works. Let’s try, first of all, where we have the possibility of influence, to do our job at home, of course, in Europe. We’re still not that bad, even if we could do a lot more. And then, indeed, in the relationship with the Mediterranean, Africa which is our neighboring territory, since for the moment, the question of the relationship with Russia is obviously blocked by Russian aggression on Ukraine.