The Powerful Are Different From You And Me
"We recognize that the impacts of climate change at 1.5°C are much lower than at 2°C. Keeping 1.5°C within reach will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries, taking into account different approaches, through the development of clear national pathways that align long-term ambition with short- and medium-term goals, and with international cooperation and support, including finance and technology, sustainable and responsible consumption and production as critical enablers, in the context of sustainable development.""We acknowledge that methane emissions represent a significant contribution to climate change and recognize, according to national circumstances, that its reduction can be one of the quickest, most feasible and most cost-effective ways to limit climate change and its impacts."G20 post-summit Communique"If the G20 was a dress rehearsal for COP26, then world leaders fluffed their lines.""Their communique was weak, lacking both ambition and vision, and simply failed to meet the moment.""Now they move on to Glasgow where there is still a chance to seize a historic opportunity, but the likes of Australia and Saudi Arabia need to be marginalized, while rich countries need to finally grasp that the key to unlock COP26 is trust. "Jennifer Morgan, executive director, Greenpeace International
G20 Leaders posed for a picture by the famed Trevi Fountain, Rome Getty Images |
"Private jets are a disaster for the climate.""A single, one-hour private flight emits two tons of carbon emissions, which is a quarter of the carbon produced by the average European in a whole year."Helena Bennett, senior policy adviser, Green Alliance
You
just cannot please everyone. All the pomp and pompous displays with the
glorified collective presence of the leaders of the most influential,
wealthiest nations on Earth cannot dispel the impression that climate
change warriors have garnered of the wanton energy wastefulness that
conferences like that of the G20 and their follow-up 13-day conference
in Glasgow sponsored by the UN and dubbed COP26 climate talks are in and
of themselves energy wasters -- both of the fuel to convey them and of
the exhaustive efforts to convince the world their decisions are
meaningful.
"We'll
cap oil and gas sector emissions today and ensure they decrease
tomorrow at a pace and scale needed to reach net-zero by 2030",
gushed Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of his country's energy
resources, preferring to leave Canadian oil and gas abundance
underground and import energy from Saudi Arabia instead. A logic that
stymies the cerebral process. This is a man determined to lead the world
toward salvation, offering Canada as a sacrifice to offset the growing
emissions from China.
The COP26 host, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, addressing world leaders, urged them to put a halt to "quilting the Earth in a suffocating blanket of CO2", to "get real"
about planetary responsibilities. Presumably, following his example.
And they have. Private jets all around. Private aircraft are known to
emit between ten and 60 times more carbon dioxide per passenger as do
scheduled commercial flights and up to 140 times as much as a
diesel-powered train.
World
leaders and delegates -- roughly 30,000 delegates representing 197
countries visiting Glasgow for two weeks -- are being watched
environmentally and sourly accused of contributing to a "climate
disaster" with their profligate use of hundreds of private jets, flying
to Glasgow, along with helicopters and motorcades. Starting with the
U.K. PM who will return to London via private jet, eschewing the rail
system that would take 4-1/2 hours' transit, Glasgow to London.
President Joe Biden listens to a question during a news conference at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Evan Vucci/AP) |
An
estimated 200 small executive jets are being deployed, each of which
takes six hours to generate as much CO2 as the average individual will
in a year. Regular passenger aircraft could have been chosen
alternately, and in some instances, rail. With few exceptions every
national leader is making use of private aircraft, carrying fewer
passengers than commercial flights, in the process making quite the
environmental impact.
Take,
for example, U.S. President Joe Biden whose Air Force One and an
additional four large jets accompanying him generating close to 1,000
tons of CO2 in his round-trip from America to Europe. A motorcade was
the chosen mode of transit for the president to travel from Edinburgh
airport to the Glasgow summit; a motorcade consisting of 22 vehicles
whose function created about four tons of CO2 for the 150-km round trip.
If memory serves, this is a hugely committed environment president.
The
Beast, the president's armoured limousine, ekes out eight miles per
gallon, emitting 4kg of CO2 each mile, whereas a hybrid family vehicle
emits something like 0.12kg per mile. European Commission president
Ursula von der Leyen flew to Glasgow via jet. She who has a habit of
"air taxis" for over half her official trips abroad; hops to Paris and
London from Brussels included.
Setting
an example for the world in a global responsibility to react
environmentally to reverse the horribly negative impacts of climate
change, a process helped in part by human waste and negligence of
nature's gift to humanity.
Labels: Climate Change Statement, COP26, Environmental Pledges, G20, Glasgow
<< Home