I am sorry. I wish I could be more positive about international climate conferences. No doubt most of the attendees are well-intentioned and genuinely desirous of meaningful actions that might save this ailing planet but the end declarations are often extraordinarily wishy-washy. Besides, any commitments that are made are dependent upon what happens back in the delegates' home countries.
Arguably, the city state of Dubai should not exist. It was built with steel, concrete and glass in a relatively short time period with monies accrued from oil industries. It has hardly led the way in energy conservation either. It would be virtually impossible to live in Dubai without air-conditioning or motor vehicles. One might even say that Dubai is a monument to excessive use of fossil fuels. And yet this is where COP28 was held. The irony could not be more startling.
People flew in from all over the world, staying in sumptuous hotels. They consumed fabulous food - also flown in from all over the world. Our beloved prime minister, the future Lord Sunak of Southampton, flew in for a few hours and then flew straight back to Britain. He was just showing his face and ticking a box but did he pause for a moment to consider how much that one return flight had enlarged his already enormous carbon footprint? Irony upon irony.
Back in 2021, Greta Thunberg referred to these COP conferences as all "Blah-blah-blah", adding, “This is all we hear from our so-called leaders. Words that sound great but so far have not led to action. Our hopes and ambitions drown in their empty promises.” I tend to agree with her.
One of the key factors behind climate change is surely population growth. Every extra million people increases the environmental stress upon this aching world. And yet the issue hardly features at all in agendas at international climate meetings. It's as if straying into that territory is like entering an agreed no-go zone. Best to stay quiet on that one. Shhh!
Did you ever hear the expression, "fiddling while Rome burns"? It concerns the emperor Nero and his alleged disregard for his people and his imperial city. However, it is a saying that might as well be attached to our current world leaders. They don't seem to care overmuch about the truth of climate change and what is already going on. It's much easier to pay lipservice to these matters.
One COP28 attendee I do quite admire is the current UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres. Unequivocally, he said, “The science is clear: The 1.5C limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels. Not reduce, not abate. Phase out, with a clear timeframe.”
But do short-termist politicians listen? Not really. They are drifting onward both to another COP jamboree - next time in Azerbaijan of all places - and ultimately to the end of Earth as we know it.
The earth cannot continue to support the population blowout. That is what is causing all our problems. The most populace nations are also the ones that have the greatest carbon emissions. But, as you say, this must not be addressed for fear of causing offence so we continue to blow smoke up arses in an attempt to make it look as if something is being done.
ReplyDeleteYou see things the way I do.
DeleteOne proven way to limit population growth has been economic development - the most developed nations have fertility rates significantly less than the natural replacement level of 2.1 children per couple, and their populations are only sustained through immigration with slk of the problems that that brings.
DeleteI didn't think it was possible to have .1 of a child. Ha Ha.
DeleteI only disagree with you slight about dubious Dubai. The public transport is quite good as it serves a narrow linear city, and while it is terribly hot outside the metro and its trains, and buses are well cooled. I suppose this rather supports your point and I would guess the public transport is mostly used by immigrant labour and low paid workers.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have argued yourself round Andrew!
DeleteIs gas a fossil fuel? Because I love cooking with gas and heating my water with gas for showers etc. My current home has an electric hob and oven and I HATE them both. I do about a fifth of the cooking I would normally do if I had a gas cooker.
ReplyDeleteYes. It is indeed a fossil fuel.
DeleteThe man running COP28, Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber, who also heads the state oil company Adnoc, said the phase-out of fossil fuels was not necessary to achieve the Paris Agreement target of limiting warming to 1.5°C during a meeting in the run-up to the summit.
ReplyDelete“There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5°C,” he said in response to a question from Mary Robinson, the former Irish President.
Dr. Al-Jaber, who is also head of the renewable energy company Masdar, suggested that a phase-out of fossil fuels would mean countries missing out on “sustainable socioeconomic development” and could not be achieved “unless you want to take the world back into caves”.
Realistically, he is right on the money - without oil, gas and coal, the current levels of society development cannot be sustained. We are being asked to live a 21st century lifestyle with the power sources that could only support a feudal 15th century lifestyle. Of course, if the numpties in the HoC had done like France, and invested in nuclear 20-30 years ago we would be better placed now, at least we might just have enough electricity to keep the lights on 24/7.
Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber clearly has vested interests that were at odds with neutral chairmanship.
DeleteActually, the science is not clear, the widely quoted "97% of scientists" figure has been discredited, resulting from a very selective analysis of paper summaries.
ReplyDeletePolar bears and Tuvalu speak more powerfully than an entire army of scientists.
DeleteAs for Antonio Guterres, anyone who describes the current rise in global temperatures as "global boiling" when they are still well below the temperatures during the Roman and Medieval Warm Periods is either deluded or being paid handsomely to lie.
ReplyDeleteThen I must also be deluded or being paid handsomely to lie but the money has not arrived yet.
DeleteI couldn't agree more with you there, Neil. Overpopulation is the Big White Elephant in every room, because (almost?) every issue we as a species are struggling with on this planet can be broken down to overpopulation at its root.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't get is how we still seem to place the creation (or at least the keeping) of jobs above all else. If people keep their jobs in the car industry, they will be able to provide for their families; I recognise that, of course. But as long as individual traffic is going at its current rate - and it does not make as much of a difference whether those cars run on fossil fuels or are powered electronically - we'll never redude the overall carbon footprint significantly.
And that's just one small part of the big puzzle.
I fear for Phoebe, Zach and Margot's children's children. This beautiful planet should have been cherished and nurtured but instead we have wrecked it.
DeleteWe are standing on the edge. It is only when the 'big' countries start to fall off will we only ever have any action. But the slow attrition of renewable energy is starting to show in this country. All is needed now is to get you out of your petrol driven cars, and a decent functioning travel system. The trouble with the politicians and leaders they think they are too important not to have the advantage of private jet travel. Why couldn't they all have zoomed at home?
ReplyDeleteWhat would be the point of them using "Zoom"? It would be more fitting for them to use "Doom"!
DeleteI fully expected nothing substantial to come from the meeting so I was spared the disappointment when proven right. I'm of the belief that nothing substantial will continue to happen until it is way to late and we are dying by the tens of thousands perhaps millions, due to our inactions.
ReplyDeleteI see it that way too Ed.
DeleteEasy to criticise politicians. Who elects them? Who would vote for a party that wants to severely restrict car use, overseas holidays, and how much we can have and consume? How would most people spend their time? And, yes, who dares to tell the people of Gaza and many other places they have too many kids?
ReplyDeleteYou make a valid point Tasker.
DeleteThe end of humankind, the earth will heal and recover without us.
ReplyDeleteWill it all end with a bang I wonder - or a long drawn out whimper?
DeleteI'm thankful there are young people like this. The kid is in grade 12.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.geekwire.com/2023/seattle-teen-reveals-how-much-carbon-the-ultra-rich-emit-from-their-private-jets/
Great work by Akash Shendure and his team!
Delete"Fiddling while Rome burns"
ReplyDeleteExactly.
It seems to happen a lot.
DeleteI couldn't agree with you more. I think there's lots of sand at Dubai so they have no trouble sticking their heads in the sand. As climate change becomes more severe, there will be more conflicts over dwindling resources such as food and water.
ReplyDeleteThe future looks desperate though we won't be around to see it.
DeleteI heard a lengthy report about this conference on NPR yesterday and was amazed at the chairman's closing comments where he told the delegates something like "I congratulate you. You have delivered." But the pundits say the "accomplishments" were spare and virtually meaningless.
ReplyDeleteThey never end conferences with lines like, "This has all been an utter waste of time."
Delete