COP26 has failed disastrously

[Chris F]

Nothing on the major greenhouse emitters. Just a side deal on methane and as we know - livestock aren't the problem here. Human population provides the biggest threat as increasing numbers consume more. Yes we have reduced dood carbon from 2.7 to 2.1t per person in the last 30 years and in the next 20 need to get this to 0 in the UK and under 1 worldwide.

So plenty to keep improving on, but in reality without commitment form the big industrials, we are never going to solve the problem. Looks like going vegan won't save the planet - like Tesco's and ITV keep saying.

Molly Scott Cato, Professor of Economics at the University of Roehampton, says the event has failed in what history will see as our last chance to protect the world from disastrous over-heating:

“The fundamental purpose of COP26 was to ensure that our climate does not heat up by more than 1.5 degrees – by that measure it has failed disastrously.

“Nations know they have to cut emissions deeper and faster. Yet despite a limited increase in ambition, the majority of countries have failed to strengthen the promises they made in Paris in 2015, leading well-respected Carbon Action Tracker, to put the world on track for a calamitous 2.4 degrees of warming.

“While the difference between 1.5 and 2.4 might not seem like very much, it is the difference between a liveable climate and one where thousands die from heat shock in Europe and millions are faced with starvation in Africa due to drought. It is the difference between the loss of all the coral in the world and having any chance of saving them. It is the difference between Maldives or the Marshall Islands existing or simply disappearing under rising seas.

“The absence of leaders from Russia and China, two of the world’s largest carbon emitters, and the last-minute intervention by India and China to water down the language on coal, have been pivotal to the event's shortcomings. This is a diplomatic failure of the last few decades during which geopolitical manoeuvring and self-interest has shamelessly dominated the climate crisis.

“The countries that have signed up to the agreement cannot escape blame, with the majority putting self-interest above the common project of saving the climate. The need to remove fossil fuels from our global economy has been held up by many of the most powerful countries sheltering their fossil fuel interests, including the UK and US. The UK presidency lost focus on the global diplomacy at the heart of COP with its desire to tout for sustainable finance business for The City.

“Meanwhile, the failure of the wealthy nations that are responsible for historic emissions to put money on the table to repair Loss-and-Damage made it impossible for Alok Sharma, in spite of his best efforts, to maintain a unity of purpose.

“While this is a gloomy picture, there are some individual rays of light, with deals on methane and forests helping to reduce the burden on the atmosphere. And the acceptance of the need to phase out fossil fuels by countries responsible for the vast majority of the world’s economic activity can only be welcomed.

“Yet in reality COP26 has been a political and diplomatic failure. History will judge Glasgow as the last opportunity to protect civilisation against the ravages of an over-heating climate and, another year of delay until COP27 in Egypt, means that opportunity has been missed.”

 

[roscoe erf]

oh dear

 

[Oldmacdonald]

Global politics is the problem though.

Hopefully annual reporting may help shame some into greater action.

 

[farmerm]

There are about 8bn people in the world, 1bn, including everyone that participates in this forum has access to far more wealth than the other 7bn. The 1bn do not want to give up our position of relative wealth, the 7bn do not want to give up their aspirations of catching us up. The first COP was in 1995 yet global emissions have not decreased since, indeed they have increased 40%. Without a major break though in cheap energy production, storage and transmission we will be lucky to see the rate of global emissions growth slow let alone see it reversed.

 

[Kidds]

It is all very well blaming China and India for all the pollution but it is about time someone pointed out that most of it is produced from manufacturing the stuff we buy.
We don't have to buy it. A great deal of it we can fairly easily live without and we don't have to buy it based on price. We can always buy on ethics if that is what matters and we can always impose tariffs on products that cause excess pollution. Change can easily be lead by consumer choices but you have to get past our throw away attitude to living.

 

[Goweresque]

If its failed disastrously then we can forget about it all then right? Back to normal, burn coal, gas and oil, drive around in V8 cars, put the central heating on full with all the windows open? After all we were told by screeching and preaching politicians, celebs and all the usual suspects that this was the last chance evaaaar to solve the problem or we were all doomed. So now it hasn't been solved then we are indeed all condemned to fry, or drown, or whatever 'climate change' decrees this week, so we might as eat drink and be merry with fossil fuels because its all too late now.

Or maybe they were just lying for political ends...........

 

[SilliamWhale]

It is all very well blaming China and India for all the pollution but it is about time someone pointed out that most of it is produced from manufacturing the stuff we buy.
We don't have to buy it. A great deal of it we can fairly easily live without and we don't have to buy it based on price. We can always buy on ethics if that is what matters and we can always impose tariffs on products that cause excess pollution. Change can easily be lead by consumer choices but you have to get past our throw away attitude to living.

But who wants to live with less?

Not many

 

[Bogweevil]

But who wants to live with less?

Not many

Doesn't matter what we want, either we could consume less or we get runaway global warming.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Doesn't matter what we want, either we could consume less or we get runaway global warming.

I'm not sure about runaway but we will definitely get global warming as we won't collectively consume less. However it might not be so bad as predicted.

 

[davidroberts30]

oh dear

 

[bankrupt]

COP26 seems to have been an interesting standoff between those nations which made promises which are technically impossible, those nations which made promises which are politically impossible, those nations which made promises never intending to keep any of them, and the honest few who stayed well away.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

But who wants to live with less?

Not many

It's a work in progress here.....

 

[Bogweevil]

I'm not sure about runaway but we will definitely get global warming as we won't collectively consume less. However it might not be so bad as predicted.

Then again it might be worse.

 

[SilliamWhale]

It's a work in progress here.....

Generally only when you have a position of comfort and security do people want less!

 

[SilliamWhale]

Then again it might be worse.

It might be! At the moment it doesn't seem too bad. Johnathan Porritt used to say we'd be f**ked by 2020

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Generally only when you have a position of comfort and security do people want less!

But settling for less means choosing actively to oppose the continual psychological pressure from politicians, advertisers and peer pressure to be a good little consumer for the sake of "the economy".

 

[SilliamWhale]

But settling for less means choosing actively to oppose the continual psychological pressure from politicians, advertisers and peer pressure to be a good little consumer for the sake of "the economy".

I know but its easier to aspire for less from a position of relative comfort, security and age.

 

[Jonp]

Christmas is coming...have a look at all the tat people buy...it's a reflection of the real problem

 

[Lincoln75]

One of the biggest group of villain's and hypocrites are the supermarkets , most food only comes packed in plastic , bags are still plastic at the till and most drinks come in plastic bottles , as most of us know food can be packed successfully in other ways , ie paper ,glass and aluminium .

 

[Oldmacdonald]

One of the biggest group of villain's and hypocrites are the supermarkets , most food only comes packed in plastic , bags are still plastic at the till and most drinks come in plastic bottles , as most of us know food can be packed successfully in other ways , ie paper ,glass and aluminium .

And some last infinately better in plastic. Not packing cucumbers in plastic would result in more harm from food waste than a little bit of plastic ever would.