 |
| COP24 Pavillion - Katovice |
As I write this Blogpost the United States (President Trump), Russia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have all declined to 'welcome' the latest report from the IPCC showing we have only 12 years to act to stabilise the climate by getting a grip on emission reductions. Of course nobody really 'welcomes' bad news but in UN diplomacy terms this means acknowledging its legitimacy which is the starting point for taking radical action to address the problem. Disappointing doesn't cover it really. Instead they have decided to 'note' the report. 'Note' is diplomatic code for "I saw it but I'm not going to necessarily do anything about it". So why do these oil rich nations run by despots behave so poorly? Well the clue is in the question I guess. My hope is that when Government Representatives from these countries arrive tomorrow that they move their position swiftly to one which is compatible with the survival of civilization.
How should the UK respond? Well ignoring our own Government's failings for just a second perhaps we should react in the same way as we would to a Novichok attack or the murdering of a journalist in a Government building. Acts of barbarism by Governments are not all as obvious as these examples but the contempt shown for science and the billions who will suffer is truly horrific and mind bogglingly self serving.
No comments:
Post a Comment