Guest essay by Eric Worrall
The United Nations has moved on from conducting simple surveys which all too frequently reveal an embarrassing lack of concern about climate change. Now they ask activists to hold conversations with their followers, and claim the reported outcome of those conversations is evidence of public support for climate action.
Global public tells the United Nations: Take action on climate change and the environment
The United Nations is marking its 75th anniversary at a time of great upheaval, as COVID-19 continues to spread, exacting a heavy toll on lives, societies and economies in all regions of the world.
In January 2020, the UN75 initiative launched a global conversation, inviting people around the world to discuss their priorities for the future, obstacles to achieving them, and the role of global cooperation in overcoming these challenges.
As of March 2020, over 13 million people in nearly all UN Member States had taken part in the initiative, with more than 40,000 completing the one-minute survey, and more than 330 dialogues held in 87 countries.
Respondents placed great emphasis on climate change and the environment, with protection of the environment one of the top three priorities. Climate and the environment were also identified as one of the top three global trends, and widely discussed in the dialogues. The vast majority of respondents agreed on the need for closer international cooperation to make progress in these and other areas.
COVID-19 has revealed the vulnerability of global systems to protect the environment, health and economy. There is an increasing recognition of how multiple economic, social and institutional drivers exacerbate environment risks, impacting on human health and increasing the burden on health services.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as the authoritative voice on the environment within the UN system, is well placed to help its member countries rise to the challenge of delivering a better future. UNEP will celebrate its own anniversary in 2022, having been at the heart of the environmental movement since the Stockholm Conference in 1972.
UNEP is also working with partners to implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, particularly in areas that have a direct link to the environment such as hazardous waste, governance, wildlife conservation, climate change and ecosystems. Find out what UNEP is doing to achieve the Goals.
For instance, a key UNEP report is the annual Emissions Gap Report, the most recent issue of which says we must cut global emissions 7.6 per cent every year of the next decade if we are to limit temperature rise per the Paris Agreement to 1.5°C.
A just-released international survey by Ipsos MORI Public opinion on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic says: “Seven in ten consider climate change as serious a crisis as COVID-19, and a similar proportion feel their government will be failing them if it doesn’t act on climate change now. Two thirds globally support a green economic recovery from the crisis.”
Over the course of 2020, the UN75 team will gather public perspectives on global challenges and solutions on how to tackle them through a one-minute survey (in 53 languages) and dialogues – now the bulk of which will be online online – organized by partners across the world.
Nature is in crisis, threatened by biodiversity and habitat loss, global heating and toxic pollution. Failure to act is failing humanity. Addressing the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and protecting ourselves against future global threats requires sound management of hazardous medical and chemical waste; strong and global stewardship of nature and biodiversity; and a clear commitment to “building back better”, creating green jobs and facilitating the transition to carbon neutral economies. Humanity depends on action now for a resilient and sustainable future.
For more information, please contact Lisa Laskaridis lisa.laskaridis@un.org
Source: https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/global-public-tells-united-nations-take-action-climate-change-and
The new UN approach to gathering public views in my opinion echoes the constitutional changes implemented by President Maduro in Venezuela, when his power was threatened by people electing the wrong representatives.
President Maduro’s ingenious solution to his complete lack of democratic legitimacy was to create a sham representative body but control the membership.
Instead of directly elected representatives, he created a “Constitutional Assembly” of largely self appointed community leaders where say labor unions or other government recognised groups were invited to provide a representative. The constitutional assembly almost immediately declared the directly elected national assembly unconstitutional, and declared itself the pre-eminent legislative body. So it still looks like Maduro is listening to the people, but Maduro has an opportunity to choose which groups receive official recognition and membership of the new assembly.
Britain also recently implemented a similar system, a people’s Climate Assembly of mostly self appointed community leaders or other volunteers, in response to demands from Extinction Rebellion and other green groups that they be given an official advisory role. So far the British government backed Climate Assembly has not challenged the legitimacy of the directly elected Westminster parliament, at least not to the same extent as Venezuela’s constitutional assembly challenged the directly elected Venezuelan National Assembly.
Actual statistics shows that 95% of the COVID-19 fatalities are from underlying illnesses. The overwhelming majority of people DO NOT have any significant risk of dying from COVID-19. Why not protect JUST the older, at-risk?
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Thirty years of IPCC Incompetence
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Policy (IPCC) defines itself as “the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change”. It was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment Program to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
Since 1988 the IPCC has produced five comprehensive Assessment Reports and several Special Reports on specific topics. They’ve also produced Methodology Reports, which provide practical guidelines on the preparation of greenhouse gas inventories for the inventory reporting requirements of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) was finalized between 2013 and 2014. Its key findings were:
· Human influence on the climate system is clear
· The more we disrupt our climate, the more we risk severe, pervasive, and irreversible impacts
· We have the means to limit climate change and build a more prosperous, sustainable future
The IPCC claim for “human influence” is based on their assessment fossil emissions will raise atmospheric CO2 levels, increasing global temperatures, and “risk severe, pervasive, and irreversible impacts”. No one doubts additional CO2 can increase global warming by allowing solar rays through atmosphere and blocking radiation back to space. Venus exemplifies that influence, however its atmosphere is 96.5% CO2.
The question becomes whether the human influence from increasing fossil CO2 emissions beyond current 0.04% atmospheric level can have a similar affect The IPCC AR5 SPM, “Summary Report for Policy Makers” includes on page 4, Figure SPM 1 (a) Observed globally averaged combined land and ocean surface temperature anomaly 1850–2012. It shows plots of annual average temperatures and decadal average temperatures.
They both show annual and decadal temperatures rose between 1910 and 1950, were relatively flat from 1950 to 1970 and rose from 1970 to 2012 at the same rate as they did from 1910 to 1950. Meanwhile fossil CO2 emissions, nearly all from coal, were relatively flat from 1910 to 1950. From 1950 to 1970 the added emissions from oil and gas more than doubled fossil CO2 emissions. They continued to increase until 1990 with subsequent emissions adding 70% by 2017. (That increase was largely the result of China increasing emissions from 2,397 million tons (Mt) in 1990 to 10,877 Mt in 2017, double US 5,107 Mt emissions.)
Thus by 1990 IPCC already had ample evidence to debunk their decision to attribute global warming to fossil emissions. That increases in fossil emissions did not have their purported ten times the effect on global temperatures as increases in energy from the Sun. First the fact that global temperatures had increased from 1910 to 1950 at the same rate as from 1970 to 1990 despite the fact fossil emissions had increased very little. Second that the global temperatures from 1950 to 1970 were relatively flat despite the substantial increase in fossil emissions. After 1990 the IPCC continued to ignore the fact subsequent temperature increases continued at the same rate as from 1970 despite the 70% increase between 1990 and 2017, failing to reflect purported sensitivity.
The IPCC is currently in the process of conducting their 6th Assessment Cycle. For thirty years they’ve failed to recognize the lack of correlation between global temperatures and fossil emissions. They’ve also failed to demonstrate the ability to limit fossil emissions so it’s time they concede fossil emissions are not an existential threat. That global temperatures, driven by the Sun, are increasing CO2 out gassing from ocean. That increasing global temperatures are the reason for increasing CO2 in atmosphere not the result.
The entire world has already paid a heavy price for IPCC incompetence. Their claim “We have the means to limit change and build a more prosperous, sustainable future” is beyond incompetent. My goal as a global warming denier gubernatorial candidate is to begin exposing this reality.
Wow! Eric, this is the quote that stops me cold: “… seven in ten consider climate change as serious a crisis as Covid-19,…”! This means that the people, who responded to the survey in question, are woefully uninformed (misinformed?) or just plain stupid. Either scenario is alarming and neither scenario has a cure. The United Nations needs to relocate to China. Stay sane and safe (day 38 of the quarantine and I am now allowed to go for a walk four times a week!).
I am still interested in the on-going experiment we are running where we reduced fossil fuel consumption by 30-50%, depending on what data people use to measure it. This should have an impact on atmospheric CO2 if the CAGW theories are correct, so this is a test of that theory. The Null Hypothesis is that fossil fuel consumption contributes meaningfully to atmospheric CO2. The theory also says that there is a 100 Year lifespan for the impact of CO2 from fossil sources (100 year global warming potential). If this is true, there should be a meaningful impact for a significant reduction in CO2 emissions from fossil sources observable in the Mauna Loa CO2 atmospheric concentration measurements. If there is no impact for a 2 month drop in Fossil Fuel emissions, one would conclude that the overall impact of man on climate is small and not distinguishable from noise.
We should monitor this closely and discuss how long of period is needed to ascertain a meaningful data point from this experiment. If we conclude that the impact is trivial, that needs to be communicated widely and acted upon appropriately.
Marketing firms would kill for access to the sucker list the UN is using here.
Did they poll persons who voluntarily contribute to the UN?
For in Canada we see similar push polls,as credible as CBC polling “Friends of CBC”.
The UN have a firm track record,they lie by choice and serve no useful function known to productive persons.
Why are we still members of that corrupt agency?
Here’s some self serving numbers we’ve just yanked out of our backsides to try and load up the post virus debate with our talking points – how dare you challenge the democratic majority of people we’re claiming are on our side you waycist bullies…..
and plenty more in the same vein.
First I’ve heard of a worldwide survey to shape UN policy, so clearly they didn’t get the message to me. At first I was tempted to go online and add my voice, but I think now that this is just the sort of legitimacy they crave, so will not. Will focus on letting my elected representatives what I think of the UN.
Yet another reason to expel the UN from New York. Use the UN building as temporary hospital*. When the pandemic is over, give the UN building to Donald Trump so that he can turn it into condominiums.
*The location is perfect. The UN is at 42nd St and 1st Ave. NYU/Bellevue is at 34th and 1st. And New York Hospital/ Memorial Sloane Kettering is at 68st and 1st.
“Take action on climate change and the environment”
I’m all for preserving the environment. But would someone please tell me what the climate will be like once action has been taken and the problems with the climate that concern you have been resolved to your satisfaction?
Macron/France, same sorry tactics.
https://globalvisionuk.com/macrons-luddite-charter-grimly-predictable-and-utterly-unworkable/
It’s obvious that the UN is the progenitor of the AGW scam and advocates any and all support. It’s also obvious that the UN holds the Western nations responsible for the sad state of the Third World yet does everything to hinder rather than improve their status. The UN has grown to a behemoth with a budget larger than some nations and is financed primarily by those nations it demonizes. As an American I want to know what the UN has done for us, their major donor ….. rhetorical question. Time for the UN to start carrying out its’ mission and step away from world governance. It’s also past time the US steps away from the UN. Permanently.
The biggest threat to humans trying to navigate their way through life’s everyday challenges is self-appointed do-gooders and “saviors” of just about everything.
Useful idiots are not a threatened species unfortunately.
And the UN is the most accomplished shepherd of this ever-growing flock.
UN discovers that when you pressure people to give the answer you want, they give the answer you want.
The only good to come out of covid is less money is available for the climate change scam.
We will soon have a new series of referendums on Climate Change in member states. They are called elections. Politicians that are seen throwing money after vanity projects that don’t give the people what they need and instead saddle them with onerous liabilities for the future will face loss and oblivion. And when they understand this, they will turn quicker than the rotor of Marine One.
13 million people…and still not all member nations were represented. Interesting.
I am sure this survey has been promoted to the very people who would place a priority on those very things.
I filled it out differently and advised the UN Sec General to stop wasting focus on climate change and address real problems.
TILT! TILT! TILT! . . . The headline reads “global public tells” whereas the article’s body text reads “they ask activists”, both referring to information flow to/from the UN.
Interesting sleight-of-hand trick there.
But not at all surprising coming from the UN.
Those 7 in 10 who consider climate changing as important as WuhanFlu now have the experience to put their beliefs into action.
They have demonstarted that they do not need to fly anywhere or go farther in transportation than where can obtain essential food.
They can exist mostly staying at home since this occassions significant reduction in many kinds of mortality causes, thereby reducing the need for hospitalization & the high energy usage hospitals necessitate.
By ensuring social distancing those residing in buildings with elevators will only use the stairs, thus reducing the emvironmental impact from the other 3 out of 10 who may use the elevators.
Those 7 out of 10 can surrender their audio headphones from the year 1990 onward & agree to be bio-chipped as ineligible to use any headphones made other than those with paper drivers.
They must fully accept responsiblity for CO2 exhaled while alive if they have two X chromosomes & identify as male then they must also agree to fulfill the statistical WuhanFlu mortality rate for men.
Using their junk survey approach, surprised they didn’t report the “97% think climate change as serious a crisis as COVID-19.”
This is exactly like the Opinion-Editor in a major paper wrote after Trump in 2016 that they couldn’t see how Trump won because they knew of no one in their circle of colleagues and friends who voted for him.
Who is this “Global Public”? Another taxpayer-subsidized think tank? 😉 I think “global public” is another creating of the Green Blob’s imagination. It seems to me that controlling the climate consistently ranks at or near the bottom of priorities of normal people, and personal health and safety rank at or near the top. It’s funny how poorly managed health issues can cause worldwide problems.
Reality has never been a democracy. It is a dictatorship of what is.
So Eric Worral wastes the opportunity to discuss the interfering, globalist UN and its 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda ( aks Agenda 21 ) by going into a personal politically motivated rant about Venezuela.
Well done Eric.
Well, it looks like a self-selected sample doesn’t it? ‘Inviting people to discuss their priorities for the future’. Only those really interested will take part. It’s also an echo chamber. If you bombard people with anthropogenic climate change propaganda you get back the echo of concern. As for Britain listening to nutters like Extinction Rebellion, what the hell do they think they are playing at? Their ideas are not even supported by the ‘science’ of the IPCC.
Furthermore, Nature is not in crisis unlike what the ‘unenvironment.org/news tells us. Habitats are not threatened, pollution is not getting worse. The world is actually becoming an environmentally better place. Sounds like this ‘unenvironment.org’ organisation is another bunch of liars & misleaders like Greenpeace, Worldwatch & other environmental loons. Someone should inform Greta Thunberg & her associates that our generation is bequeathing to hers a world that is richer, cleaner, better fed & nourished & more secure than the one our parents bequeathed to us & that this progress will continue.
WHO knew that the UN is the real pandemic in the world.