https://arab.news/6aed6

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s recent visit to China underscored the urgency of addressing climate change. While she expressed concerns about the adequacy of China’s efforts in combating this existential threat, Chinese officials asserted their commitment to their own vision of sustainability encapsulated in the concept of “Ecological Civilization.”

This vision seeks to harmonize economic prosperity with ecological preservation over a century-long period. While the Joe Biden administration’s Western approach draws inspiration from seminal works including “Small is Beautiful” by E.F. Schumacher and “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson, China’s perspective is deeply entrenched in indigenous philosophies such as Taoism and Confucianism. These two views on sustainability are not irreconcilable, but they are distinct.

Over the past half-century, less established environmental perspectives have often been met with wariness rather than recognized as valuable indigenous wisdom deserving documentation, amplification, and integration into a comprehensive global framework rooted in bulletproof science, and which should be embraced by communities worldwide, all of whom should feel directly impacted by climate change issues and recognize their role as part of the solution.

Take, for instance, Islamic thinking, which carries a long tradition of sustainability and environmental stewardship. While we in Europe and North America were shaping many new environmental concepts, a set of Saudi Arabian scholars pioneered the “Islamic Principles for the Conservation of the Natural Environment” in 1983.

This 25-page Islamic study, which proved influential in shaping policies across various Muslim states, asserted that the “protection, conservation and development of the environment and natural resources is a mandatory religious duty to which every Muslim should be........

© Arab News Pakistan