Guest essay by Eric Worrall
“We’re Not on Track” – According to UN Climate chief Patricia Espinosa, governments need to try harder to meet their climate goals.
Governments ‘not on track’ to cap temperatures at below 2 degrees: U.N.
Amy Sawitta Lefevre
BANGKOK, (Reuters) – Governments are not on track to meet a goal of the 2015 Paris agreement of capping temperatures well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) before the end of the century, a United Nations official said on Sunday ahead of climate-change talks in Bangkok this week.
Patricia Espinosa, head of the Executive Secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which steers the climate talks, said both the public and private sector need to act with urgency to avoid “catastrophic effects”.
The Paris climate agreement, adopted by almost 200 nations in 2015, set a goal of limiting warming to “well below” a rise of 2 degrees C above pre-industrial times while “pursuing efforts” for the tougher goal of 1.5 degrees C.
“1.5 is the goal that is needed for many islands and many countries that are particularly vulnerable to avoid catastrophic effects. In many cases it means the survival of those countries. With the pledges we have on the table now we are not on track to achieve those goals,” Espinosa told Reuters in a telephone interview on Sunday in Bangkok.
…
The week long extra session in Bangkok was organised to help bring people together, after talks in Bonn broke down last May.
Perhaps expert delegates attending this month’s Bangkok conference will take the opportunity to advise Thai authorities about their city’s ongoing soapy massage eco-disaster. The Thai capital is rapidly sinking into the swamp, due in part to excess groundwater drawn illegally by megabrothels seeking to avoid large utility bills.
They never were on track.
The Paris agreement was a voluntary fun fest where delegations agreed to guarantee optional goals.
In spite of hand waving claims, every government delegation was there to solely agree… Not, commit their countries to implacable goals.
John Kerry is an excellent example of that dubious agreement.
Only Kerry’s specific Paris mission was a mandate to avoid sentences requiring Senate agreement or vote. Kerry’s Paris mission was to avoid definite commitments and phrases that even hint of a treaty.
Leaving the Paris agreement as massive dealing from the bottom of a marked deck, where no country got a card higher than deuce.
An old mate of mine lives in Thailand. He assures me not one person he knows is worried about climate change.
Is the same Bangkok that is famed for its traffic jams? No wonder they needed an extra week. Just think of all that fuel wasted.
No doubt many of UNFCCC delegates are quite pleased to have an all expense paid trip to Bangkok. (Queue up an Elon Musk tweet).
“…2 degrees C above pre-industrial times …”. Would “industrial times” include the thermometer industry and its continuing development of temperature gauges, leading to much improved, more accurate, reliable, and precise scientific equipment that we have today? Or were magical thermometers from the future brought back to the past by time travelers, like the ones who [were pruned]?
[edited for content. .mod]
The first mercury thermometer was made in the early 18th century. So it is conceivable that they had accurate thermometers in industrial times. But the exact phrase in the Paris Accord is, above pre-industrial ‘levels’, not times. Note the plural, ‘levels’, which gives rise to the question: Which levels? How many levels? Can we choose a level?
also what does “pre-industrial” mean? Industry existed before the industrial revolution started to to much of the donkey work out of production. For example, the tin mining industry of Cornwall was a major source of tin for the Phoenicians.
When Al Gore published “Earth in the Balance” in 1992 he stated that scientists believed “almost unanimously” that the science was settled and the world was warming dangerously.
In fact, the scientists, meteorologists etc. believed almost unanimously that warming was natural.
He thundered , “ The science of global warming will never be disproved……..the time to act is now.”
So the time to act was a quarter century ago and none of the biblical catastrophes have since eventuated.
I am sure that Katowice, Poland, COP 24 will again be the”Last Chance Saloon”, but if it proves not to be, could we have some more chances at COP 25 and following?
If we can’t make the 2 degrees reduction by 2050, let’s try for 2060 or 2070.
–“We’re Not on Track” – According to UN Climate chief Patricia Espinosa, governments need to try harder to meet their climate goals.–
They should use graphs to indicate how well or poorly each nation is on track.
The governors of Washington, Oregon and California have already dealt with the problem. Germany also.
No further action is needed.
The planet has been saved.
Does sound a novel way to drain the swamp -“excess groundwater drawn illegally by megabrothels”.
Someone should tell Trump.
“Capping temperatures well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) before the end of the century”
What does it mean, ‘capping temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius’?
It means those who claim they can control the Earth’s atmosphere and weather are delusional, and living in a fantasy land.
“1.5 is the goal that is needed for many islands and many countries that are particularly vulnerable to avoid catastrophic effects. In many cases it means the survival of those countries.”
Translation:
Oh crap! It looks like natural warming is going to fall short of 2 degrees and socialism-building is at risk if the problem doesn’t exist. Quick, move the goalposts — 1.5 degrees is the new catastrophe!
Coming soon, 0.9 degrees is the limit! An igloo in Nunavut might sublime faster and require frequent repairs.
Seem to remember that global temperatures have dropped substantially since the Paris agreement was signed. Something like .5 C. I’m surprised they aren’t taking credit for it.
“I’m surprised they aren’t taking credit fo it.”
The alarmists are only focused on temperature increases right now. After all, CO2 is increasing so the temperatures must be increasing, too. Right? Actually no, but that’s what alarmists are thinking. No room for temperatures decreasing in that mode of thinking.
Way back I advised delegates where to go in Bangkok
From the article: “Governments ‘not on track’ to cap temperatures at below 2 degrees: U.N.”
How will governments ever be on track to cap temperatures (lol) at below 2 degrees if they allow India and China to produce as much CO2 as they need?
Browbeating the other nations is an exercise in futility if you don’t get India and China to stop increasing their output.
What a fiasco this CAGW promotion has turned into! And they keep beating this dead horse.
About eighteen years ago on business I stayed in a decent hotel in Bangkok. A sign in the room said “Don’t drink water from the cold tap. Water from the thermos is safe.” (“Thermos” was their term for hot water heater.) So even the piped city water was not bacteria-free, in a good hotel, so consider the quality of this illegally “pumped” groundwater. Most areas of Bangkok smell at least faintly of a septic tank. Yeesh.
When has any government, anywhere, done anything on time, on budget, or for the correct reasons.
USA, Jornada del Muerto desert, July 16, 1945, Manhattan project.
Let’s start by eliminating the UN and all the energy used by members to fly around and complain that people are using too much energy.
Speak to China and India. They are the big polluters. The other 195 are in it for money so they don’t have to work – just dance and eat bananas.