COP28 in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai) is the largest and most important international meeting or gathering of 2023, in which a total of 70,000 delegates, including heads of state and world leaders, will participate. The goal is to achieve (more or less) consensus and promote progress on climate among 197 countries (the European Union is the 198th member separately) and thousands of non-governmental organizations, companies and other stakeholders.
I am a bit worried that the Latvian media does not pay enough attention to this global event, because the conference is really the biggest event in 2023, which is followed all over the world. COP28 means the world’s highest-level decision-making process on climate issues, and to a large extent it is also an opportunity for the leaders of the globe to meet, because solving the climate crisis means less international relations, and various diplomatic compromises are possible in other areas as well. The author of these lines has had the opportunity to participate in the two most important COP conferences – Kyoto and Paris, and nowhere else have I seen such a serious diplomatic search for a compromise.
Three decades have passed since the Rio de Janeiro summit and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Since then, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP) gathers together all the members of the Convention every year to define new goals and obligations, as well as to identify and evaluate climate measures. I will repeat the well-known truth that it was in Paris at the COP 21 session (COP21) that the Paris Agreement was concluded, mobilizing global collective action to limit global temperature increases to 1.5oC above pre-industrial levels by 2100 and to act to adapt to existing climate consequences of change.
I would like to point out to the dear reader that I represent Greenpeace organization and its point of view, which is more radical than the point of view of most countries, but directly contradicts the point of view of the industry. We see thousands of industry-sponsored articles on the world wide web every day opposing any restrictions, especially fossil fuel restrictions. The author of these lines at the Paris conference together with the World Organization of Doctors and Greenpeacehas demonstratively walked out of the meeting room and returned as soon as some compromises became possible.
in short Greenpeace the position is – “today’s emissions cause tomorrow’s death” – 360,000 people die prematurely on the globe annually due to “greenhouse gas” emissions caused by fossil fuels.
If the fossil fuel industry continues to extract and burn fossil fuels at today’s rates, millions of people around the world will die prematurely just because of the profits of greedy fossil fuel companies.
Governments should stop all development of new fossil fuel industries, commit to a rapid phase-out of oil, gas and coal, and make polluters pay for climate destruction.
Last year’s (COP27) conference, the influence of fossil fuel lobbyists was unimaginably great – fossil fuel lobbyists were able to become representatives of 10 countries (for a small fee, distant and small countries are happy to sell their seats to various “representatives”). The fossil fuel industry seeks to delay change and deny science so they can continue to greedily pursue the profits that are the cause of the climate crisis.
In 2022, the nine largest European fossil fuel companies made a combined gross profit of $163.07 billion. Meanwhile, developing countries will face an estimated $400 billion in climate change losses and damages by 2030.
It is necessary to get world leaders at COP28 to agree to stop new fossil fuel projects, end all fossil fuel projects, invest in renewable energy – but most importantly – increase taxes on fossil fuel companies to find the means to finance the loss and damage of climate change.
The truth is that in their relentless pursuit of profits, fossil fuel companies are knowingly engaged in a business that undermines the delicate balance of the Earth’s climate and endangers human life. But together, COP28 can take the first steps towards ending fossil fuel use.
To make the planet habitable for future generations, governments must hold the fossil fuel industry accountable. The era of fossil fuels must end.
For those who follow COP28 on a daily basis, it is not easy, because dozens of events are taking place in parallel. Completely contradictory opinions and completely contradictory settings have been voiced. The United Arab Emirates does not hide its interest in getting more “oil” dollars. Dubai, as a place to push for a reduction in the use of petroleum products in transport and energy, also seems to create additional complications for the achievement of climate goals. However, there is some interest and hope in the sharing of views between the US and China, even with the naked eye I can no longer see the differences between the views of these superpowers in the field of climate control. True, these views are still heavily lobbied from the fossil fuel industry.
2023-12-07 11:41:40
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