Time to report on COP 27, the United Nations conference on climate change held from November 6 to 20 at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
While most of the evaluations are in, there are still plenty of reverberations bouncing around between governments, environmental groups and the fossil fuel industry, the latter having had more than six hundred representatives attending out of the 10,000 or so registered.
It seems that “big oil” is not going down without a fight, in spite of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) clear statement that “no new fossil fuel projects can proceed after 2022 if we are to achieve Paris Agreement (1.5 Celsius) aligned emissions reduction goals.”
It is generally accepted that in order to achieve the 1.5 Celsius limit to global warming, the world must halve its carbon emissions by 2030, just seven years hence. The fossil fuel industry now is on the receiving end of a lexicon of descriptions for its profit-motivated behaviours, including greenwashing, green wishing and green hushing. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what those mean.
With an introductory statement from António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, COP 27 opened hearing that the world is “on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”
He should have said gas pedal.
There is great jubilation in the developing world that an international fund has been formally created to compensate countries which have done little to contribute to the problem for their loss and damage, and who are on the front lines of climate change disasters, and in some cases to provide funds for a transition to renewable energy sources.
But there is also great dismay that the final text of the conference does nothing to advance the Paris Agreement emissions reduction goals. The general consensus is that we don’t have a year to lose in this battle.
While there are many initiatives and projects underway by some governments, companies and private individuals in higher greenhouse gas (GHG) producing areas, measurable emissions continue to rise. It seems that the cart has been put before the horse.
The lack of emphasis on mitigation efforts, that is preventing emissions in the first place, is screaming loudly at anyone who has given the situation any serious thought. It seems that adaptation is now getting more emphasis than mitigation, or is that just giving up?
qathet Climate Alliance has always subscribed to the belief that governments and corporations cannot be relied upon to make the changes and choices in time to secure a climate secure future for us all, our children and grandchildren. There are too many conflicts of interest within and between them, and any really effective, large-scale climate action will ultimately come down to individuals making changes in their lifestyles and expectations.
There is no excuse now. We clearly know from the scientists, and many of the recent and local global-warming-influenced weather events, that Guterres is correct, and that if our emissions don’t start dropping soon, we are indeed headed for some serious suffering.
William Lytle-McGhee is a member of qathet Climate Alliance.
