The World: Nature Will Not Wait.

• Author: Gorbachev, Mikhail

The fall of the Berlin Wall and the political storm that swept across the world a little over a decade ago was above all else a testament to the power of the human spirit to tackle adversity. The Cold War had posed a threat to security, liberty, and development everywhere, creating a seemingly insurmountable barrier between the peoples of the planet. Yet, the right mixture of human vision and courageous leadership brought this dark period in our history to a peaceful end. Today We are faced with another threat, already the cause of great suffering for millions: the degradation of the environment. To meet this global challenge we again need a clear and unified vision, determination, and decisive leadership.

The impact and forecasts of global warming are worsening; desertification is advancing; deforestation and pollution are endangering our ecosystems; and more than 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. We have seen environmental disasters with untold destruction of both human lives and nature: in the short term, during the past months there have been devastating floods across much of Europe and South Asia and the wreck of tankers off the natural treasures of the Galapagos Islands and Australian barrier reef; in the long term, vast areas of the Earth have been irrevocably scarred by the loss of ancient forests, mismanagement of river basins, and contamination.

Many environmental experts warn that these trends are now far too advanced for us to achieve real sustainability by means of gradual change; they believe we have 30 to 40 years in which to act. Time is short and we are already lagging behind.

While there are an increasing number of bold initiatives led by government and corporate leaders to protect the environment, I do not see emerging the leadership and willingness to take risks at the scale we need to confront the current situation. While there are an increasing number of people and organizations dedicated to raising awareness and provoking change in the way we treat nature, I do not yet see the clear vision and united front which will inspire humankind to respond in time to correct our course.

The example of the failure of leadership at the climate-change talks in The Hague last November is disturbing. This failure lies at the hands of our political leaders, particularly the United States, which has not yet even ratified the treaty, and to a lesser extent the business community, which has increasing...