<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/12/cop-summit-labor-australia-host>
"In 2021 the then prime minister, Scott Morrison, reluctantly agreed to attend
the Glasgow Climate Conference – the 26th Conference of the Parties (Cop) –
thanks largely to peer pressure from the United Kingdom, which was the
president of the conference at the time (and was led by a Conservative prime
minister). Despite his reluctance, Morrison felt compelled to adopt a net zero
by 2050 target before takeoff.
Only a week after the conference, the then opposition leader, Anthony Albanese,
said if Labor won the next election, he would put his hand up to host a Cop in
2024.
Well, Labor won. And it’s 2024. So dude, where is my Cop?
Cops are a big deal. Like, a really big deal.
At the Cop in Dubai last year there were about 90,000 attenders. Cops are the
biggest event a country can host outside sports. As the climate crisis has
grown, so too have the conferences’ scope. To add to the complexity, all
decisions taken at the conference must be by consensus. Think about how hard it
is to introduce climate policies in Australia where all you need is a simple
50% majority and then imagine getting consensus between almost every nation on
Earth.
Cops are complicated, incremental, painstaking work that ensures everyone is
along for the journey. The result (when it works) is groundbreaking treaties
like the Paris agreement and the goal to keep global warming to 1.5C.
For those outside the UN negotiating rooms, Cops have become the de facto
global trade show for climate solutions. If Albanese’s vision is truly to see
Australia become a renewable energy superpower, then how better to show this to
the world than having them here to view for themselves, chequebooks in hand?
Australia might again be the lucky country, when it comes to a natural
endowment of solar, wind, hydro and critical minerals, but luck is not enough
to transition at the speed and scale needed to address the climate crisis.
Hosting the world’s largest climate trade show could be just the incentive we
need.
Unfortunately, Albanese decided to delay the Cop bid from hosting in 2024 to
2026. But it is still not locked in and the clock is ticking.
The only competing bid to host in 2026 is from Turkey and the decision must be
made by consensus. Despite Turkey recently pulling out of hosting a similar UN
environmental conference, it is still in the running.
Turkey could be convinced to step aside, but that will require smart
diplomacy."
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
