GEOPOLITICAL rivalry and conflict related to the rise of China as an economic, manufacturing and trade superpower is holding back the dissemination of green technology advances.Two news reports covering events in different parts of the world highlight the need for the application of green technology to prevent further environmental degradation and mitigate the worsening crises caused by climate change and unsustainable development practices.The two events are the fires in Los Angeles (LA), with its toll on lives and property, and the less obvious but just as deadly agency of air pollution assailing the population of Delhi and its surrounding areas.In LA, the area burned by wildfires now exceeds the size of San Francisco, with early estimates of the ongoing damage reaching US$150 billion (RM675 billion). This makes it the most costly disaster in California’s history, second only to Hurricane Katrina, which caused an estimated US$200 billion in damages in the US.While Hurricane Katrina was primarily an unavoidable natural disaster, the current fires in LA are considered more preventable in terms of their causes, spread and severity. Although it has been a problem for decades, the full impact of Delhi’s air pollution has yet to be comprehensively studied.Some estimates suggest that India’s air pollution costs exceed US$100 billion annually due to lost productivity, work absences and premature deaths, with the greatest impact concentrated in the northern region.A 2023 report from the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute found that Delhi residents may lose an average of 11.9 years of life to air pollution. A similar frightening scenario has been found in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal.Ignoring elephant in the roomThe blame game in LA over the historic fires has predictably taken on partisan political tones, with a focus on leadership and policy weaknesses and failures.Although mismanagement and human factors played a role in what unfolded in the fires and similar disasters, scientific opinion is increasingly inclined towards climate change and extreme weather events as major causative factors.Despite the differing views on the role of climate change in areas experiencing unprecedented wildfires, droughts, floods and air quality issues, there can be no disagreement that the faster adoption of green technology can make a positive difference.The grim reality for the world is that societies and countries everywhere have to cope with an unprecedented proliferation of crises of their own making, which are becoming increasingly costly and devastating in their impact and financial toll.At the same time, the optimistic reality is that we have the tools – through appropriate green technologies – to better manage climate change and other man-made environmental crises.Spread of green technology laggingThe limited use of green technology to build a more sustainable world and mitigate the impact of climate change is due to a myriad of reasons
