Power and Institutional Power

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Consider the conflict between “institutional power” and the possibility of alternative models for organizing against imminent threat of climate disaster. How might “people power” be utilized to overcome the “market logic” approach to climate change?
While observing the world superficially, one might be led to believe that the world’s leaders are working together to help ensure the sustainability of the earth. However, while reading Klein’s article Hot Money: How Free Market Fundamentalism Helped Overheat the Planet, one gathers that this is far from the truth. Apparently, the world’s leaders, especially those leading the wealthiest nations, have been fighting and derailing the move to enhance the sustainability of the earth. All the infighting that has been going on has been to help protect free trade albeit at the expense of the earth. It is evident that the truth is being kept away from the public as the wealthy countries are working to curtail each other’s efforts to make the transition to green economies. Further revelations from Klein’s article reveals that institutional powers have been at the forefront of making these transitions difficult. One such institution is the World Trade Organization (WTO) whose main role is to ensure globalization or global trade is not curtailed. However, what is evident from Klein’s article is that when the laws of WTO were being drafted, the issue of climate change was never a factor. So, while it may make sense legally to effect such laws today, their influence on climate change is being widely felt. This article, therefore, seeks to consider the conflict between institutional power and the possibility of alternative models as well as how public power can be utilized to overcome the market logic approach to climate change.
One of the major issues that need to be revisited often while discussing the imminent threat of climate disaster is the lack of climate change-focused or oriented economic growth policies. In her article, Klein makes it clear that world leaders have been more focused on protecting the status quo instead of adopting policies that guarantee a future free from disaster. She quotes Robyn Eckersley, an Australian political scientist, who says “rather than push for the recalibration of the international trade rules to conform with the requirements of climate protection…the parties to the climate regime have ensured that liberalized trade and an expanding global economy have been protected against trade-restrictive climate policies” (215). What this means is that countries have been invested in protecting their positions in world trade rather than in protecting the earth. The implication is the continued destruction of the earth as countries get richer and people’s lifestyles improve.
The lack of climate change-oriented economic growth policies does lead to conflict when alternative models are adopted. Klein offers a good example with Ontario and its Green Energy and Green Economy Act. According to Klein, “the legislation created what is known as a feed-in tariff program, which allowed renewable energy providers to sell po...