Essay by Eric Worrall
UN Secretary General António Guterres sad face – COP27 has become a zombie climate conference, photo opportunities but no genuine action.
Countries vowed to ramp up climate pledges in 2022. Very few have.
By Brady Dennis and Harry Stevens
Nov. 3 at 7:00 a.m.Last fall, at a high-profile global climate summit in Scotland, the countries of the world embraced what seemed like a significant commitment in the quest to combat climate change.
Acknowledging that progress had been too slow, leaders agreed to “revisit and strengthen” their national climate targets if possible over the coming year — rather than waiting every five years, as envisioned under the 2015 Paris climate accord.
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But as the world prepares to reconvene in Egypt this month for COP27, the annual U.N. climate change conference, almost none of the globe’s biggest emitters have come forward with stronger commitments. Few nations overall have ramped up their ambition, despite another year of floods, fires and other climate-related catastrophes.
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Only one large country so far has filed a plan that includes stronger, credible emissions-cutting commitments: Australia.
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“Global and national climate commitments are falling pitifully short,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said of the findings. “We must close the emissions gap before climate catastrophe closes in on us all.”
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2022/climate-change-pledge-progress-cop27/
The reason for the weak pledges is obvious.
The world is once again experiencing what happens when climate ambition collides with the laws of physics and chemistry.
There is no renewable energy alternative to the status quo, and never will be. But so long as engineering dyslexic politicians keep putting money into doing the impossible, so long as they keep ignoring past failures, this sorry charade of waste, disappointment and failure will continue.
Correction (EW): Washington Post, not WSJ.
Ouch! Eric, looks like you have caught the fatal flaw in the progression of the Climate Warriors money ideas, pledges aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. Check’s in the mail, dump truck with bitcoin is in the driveway, do you take Debit Cards for a few Billion? Fools.
The politicians might very well decide that avoiding a metaphoric or real revolt over energy prices and shortages is a better choice than appeasing Greens. Pitchforks and torches, or yellow vests, remind the politicians that most people are not Greens, even if the Greens are very loud and determined.
Australia.
Which emits ~ 1.4% of global emissions.
What are they going to reduce to –
1.3%?
What a joke.
No no no, these are Deep Cuts Australia is committing to. They will reduce emissions to at least 1.2875%.
Hmm, if we pretend for a moment that Australia does indeed get this transition underway, won’t that mean emissions go up, at least for the next few decades? As I understand it, all this ‘green’ (it’s not) generation gets made using loads of FF. Yes, it might be FF that Australia has shipped to China so that the Chinese can make the stuff for them, but the net result is still an increase.
If Australians were clever they’d also start building some FF generation – they’ll need it for when they realise that the ruinables aren’t going to cut the mustard.
Yes but the FF emissions are outsourced to Climate Champion China so they don’t count
‘If Australians were clever” – Australians are clever – except those Australians that have a guaranteed taxpayer funded job…
Just like the populations of most other countries. But for some reason we keep voting the bastards back in.
Yes, this is a real problem for the Greens. Where do you put the FFS (Fossil Fuel Starvation) which is the main plank of their policies.?
There aren’t many people who would be happy to have it cluttering up their backyard; so it looks like there will have to be plenty of Coercion involved; but that brings it’s own problems too. I could go on with this up to total DICTATORSHIP.
I totally agree with your sentiment, but it’s 1.4% or thereabouts, of the anthropogenic contribution of around 3% of the total global emissions. Which is even more of a joke!
Yeah for Australia! It’s going to bankrupt itself for emissions that barely register on a global scale.
Virtue signaling is free. Actually following through with money to produce results from the virtue signaling is something else altogether. Especially when it involves destroying the way of life you’re accustomed to. Politicians understand what gets votes.
All the COPs were dead on arrival. Nothing new here.
Australia is on record saying
“In March 2020, the UNFCCC coordinated a team of international experts which conducted a review of the climate finance information provided by Australia in its Fourth Biennial Report. The review team found Australia’s reporting to be complete, transparent and in adherence with UNFCCC reporting guidelines”
Why can one not find the Fifth Biennial report, a transparently-promised, rule keeping promised, 2 years after the Fourth? Like now? Geoff S
https://www.dfat.gov.au/international-relations/themes/climate-change/supporting-indo-pacific-tackle-climate-change/delivering-our-climate-commitments
One of my ancestry, an Army officer, emigrated to Australia with his family and built the first hotel in Melbourne on Liardet Beach, riding up and down in his shiny cuirasse, attracting clients as they came ashore in surf boats. So I have an affinity with the country and am sure it will come good. Such a gallant history.
Nice picture at the top there..
That is what comes of Sugar Poisoning.
Not all that many folks see it, because they themselves are part of that crowd and it crept up on them gradually. Hence why they point and laugh at Ehrlich
They only notice when their feet fall off and they start to go blind but by then, it’s waaaaay too late.
They tend to stop laughing then.
Give up the sugar and the booze and you’ll see what I mean
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
It only took Guterres 27 years to figure this out?
Learning disabilities I guess.
“Few nations overall have ramped up their ambition, despite another year of floods, fires and other climate-related catastrophes.”
“Despite.” LOL Weather still happens and weather-related conditions can have bad outcomes. And it’s just not gonna change no matter what “ambition” is ramped up or down, or how much ruinous penetration of intermittent wind and solar power is achieved, or how many of those reliable fossil fueled and nuclear power plants are retired.
They really are blind and deaf to the absurdity of their own words.
The laws of governments will ultimately crumble when they violate the laws of physics. Unfortunately, sometimes this takes decades, or even centuries.
Ah stuff the pledges where’s the money for Antonio and pals to deal with?
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/un-chief-calls-for-climate-deal-between-rich-and-poor-countries-or-we-will-be-doomed/ar-AA13Lfim
Only one large country so far has filed a plan that includes stronger, credible emissions-cutting commitments: Australia.
You know what happens next, don’t you: They all rip into Australia for not doing enough. And no I’m not joking, I think that’s how their minds work. Sorry, ‘are’, not ‘work’.
“Only one large country”
I guess they mean geographically. I wouldn’t have thought we were particularly ‘large’ given our population. But yeah to us for attempting to reduce our almost non existent C02 emissions and destroying our economy in the process.
It’s obvious that these climate conferences, especially the COPs, are achieving less and less as governments, businesses, industries and consumers intend to do whatever is politically and economically convenient for them. The 30,000-plus conference delegates should be well aware of this , but what are the chances that, even though they denounce aircraft emissions, they will pass up subsidized plane trips to Egypt?