<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/16/fossil-fuel-destroyed-cops-un-compromised-cop28>
"There is a battle raging over the heart and soul of the UN Cop conferences,
which have taken place every year since 1995. On one side are the climate
scientists, policymakers, and representatives of countries most under threat
from global heating and of nations that simply “get” the disastrous effects of
the climate crisis. On the other side is the fossil-fuel industry.
The battle has largely been fought under the radar, but it has been going on
for some time. And those who fly the fossil-fuel flag are on the brink of
victory. The attack began seriously to gain ground at Cop25. First Jair
Bolsonaro’s Brazil withdrew its offer to host the event, then stand-in Chile
pulled out due to civil unrest. The Spanish government stepped up at the last
minute, and so did its fossil-fuel corporations. The Spanish energy giants
Iberdrola and Endesa – the latter one of the country’s biggest greenhouse gas
emitters – paid wads of cash to become major sponsors and buy the right to have
their logos plastered all over the conference venue.
At Cop26 in Glasgow in 2021 the fossil-fuel invasion continued, this time
taking the form of more than 500 delegates representing oil, gas and coal
interests. These were lobbyist shock troops charged with ensuring that their
industry wouldn’t be hindered in its quest to use more fossil carbon. Last
year, at Cop27 – hosted by Egypt at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh – the
fossil-fuel sector consolidated its position by hiking its contingent to a
whopping 636 delegates.
The 2023 climate conference, Cop28, will be held a few weeks before Christmas
in the United Arab Emirates, and the fossil-fuel lobby already knows it is
getting the best present it could ever wish for. Last week, the chief of the
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), Sultan Al Jaber, was paraded as the
president of Cop28, making the triumph of the fossil-fuel sector complete. It’s
like a big tobacco CEO hosting a cancer conference, except this time the health
of the whole planet is at stake."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
