Not My Climate Conference / Not My Climateconference
06 November 2022English follows Dutch
Writer / Author: Joshua Paans
Glasgow, November 2021, in the grey and grey of the Scottish autumn, COP26 takes place1 venue. THE climate conference. For a fortnight, world leaders, representatives, NGO2’s, scientists and businesses gathered to discuss how we are going to get out of this climate crisis. Naja, that's the idea. In practice, it was like this:
For a fortnight, NGOs and scientists come to watch as governments and companies discuss how those less than the bare minimum going to do to counter the climate crisis, how companies can dodge their responsibilities and how governments can get away with not passing functional climate legislation anyway. All this, resulting in a fuelled climate crisis that is already having dramatic consequences.
Of course, the idea of COP is nothing wrong with it, it is necessary even. A platform where every country comes together to present a united front in the climate crisis. The only problem is that the inaction that plagues us at the national level is no different at the international level. According to experts3 at the 2030 targets set at COP26, global warming is only limited to 2.4 degrees above pre-industrial levels4. This is such more than the 1.5 degrees of the Paris climate agreement and even well above the more realistic 2 degrees today. Of course, that 2.4 is also only if those targets are actually pursued. Based on current policies, we are aiming towards the - disastrous - 2.7 degrees of warming.
COP26 showed greenwashing5 in its worst form. Lots of talk, little action. So that needs to change. Next Sunday, 6 November, COP27 begins. A new opportunity. It must be possible to do things differently. This edition will take place in Sharm-el Sheikh, Egypt. That is already controversial in itself, given that human rights are massively violated and people are imprisoned in inhuman conditions for political and activist reasons6.
On top of that came the news in early October that Coco-Cola would sponsor COP. Coca-Cola, named the world's biggest plastic polluter for the fourth time last year7, is sponsoring ‘the climate conference’. Another salient detail is that given that Egypt is not the most accessible country in the world, EgyptAir is the ‘official transport partner’ of COP27. A major player in one of the world's most polluting sectors, as an official partner.
So all in all, THE Climate Conference sets inadequate targets, which are not adhered to. THE climate conference is sponsored by the world's biggest plastic polluter and an airline company. THE climate conference is the perfect example of greenwashing.
THE climate conference is not my climate conference.
1 COP stands for Conference of Parties. This is organised annually by the United Nations (UN) where world leaders and stakeholders come together to discuss how we deal with the global climate. COP26 is the 26ste edition of this and took place in Glasgow, Scotland.
2 NGO stands for Non-governmental Organisation. These are organisations that are separate from the government but usually perform social tasks.
3 climateactiontracker.org/global/temperatures/
4 Pre-industrial levels refer to world temperatures in 1880, before the industrial revolution.
5 Greenwashing refers to pretending to be greener or more socially responsible than a company or organisation actually is.
7 breakfreefromplastic.org/brandaudit2021/
Glasgow, November 2021, in the grey and cold of a Scottish autumn COP261 takes place. Thé climate conference. Across the span of two weeks world leaders, representatives, NGO2’s, scientists and corporations come together to discuss how we are going to get out of this climate crisis. Well, that's the idea. In practice it looked more like this:
Across the span of two weeks NGOs and scientists come to see how governments and corporations discuss how they can do less than the bare minimum to combat the climate crisis, how corporations can avoid their responsibilities and how governments can get away with still not putting functional climate legislation into place. All this, with an over fuelled climate crisis as a result, one that is already leading to disastrous consequences.
Now I believe it goes without saying that there is nothing wrong with the idea of COP, it's even necessary. A platform on which every country comes together to form a united front in the climate crisis. The problem though, is that the inaction plaguing us at national level is no different on an international level. According to experts3 the 2030-goals set at COP26 could limit global warming to 2.4 degrees above pre-industrial levels4. Of course, that is only the case if governments actually follow up on these goals. According to current policies and action we are aiming for - a disastrous - 2.7 degrees of warming. Both figures being significantly more than the 1.5 degrees set in the Paris Agreement needed to avoid far more severe threats to humanity wildlife and ecosystems. Both figures are also clearly worse than the 2-degree mark which is seen by many as a more realistic - though still incredibly problematic - goal.
COP26 showed greenwashing5 at its finest. All chat, no action. That needs to change. Next Sunday - November 6th - Is the start of COP27. A new chance. Shouldn't change be possible. This edition takes place in Sharm-el Sheikh, Egypt. Controversial on its own seen the mass human rights violations and politically motivated incarcerations under inhumane circumstances.
On top of that the news broke at the dawn of October that Coca-Cola will be sponsoring COP. Coca-Cola, having been named largest plastic polluting corporation in the world four years running7, sponsoring ‘thé climate conference’. Other fine detail is, as Egypt isn't particularly reachable, EgyptAir will be the ‘official carrier of COP27’. A major player in one of the most polluting sectors, as official partner.
So, to summarise, thé climate conference sets insufficient goals, which in turn don't get adequately acted upon. Thé climate conference gets sponsored by the largest plastic polluter in the world and an airline company. Thé climate conference is showing to be the perfect example of greenwashing.
Thé climate conference is not my climate conference.
1 COP means Conference of Parties. This gets hosted yearly by the United Nations (UN) where world leaders and interested parties come together to discuss the state of the global climate. COP26 was the 26th edition hosted in the Scottish city of Glasgow.
2 NGO means Non-governmental organisation. These are organisations which are independent from governments who generally aim to act in the interest of society.
3 climateactiontracker.org/global/temperatures/
4 Pre-industrial levels refer to the average world temperature in 1880, prior to the industrial revolution.
5 Greenwashing refers to the act of portraying to be more environmentally responsible or socially responsible than a government or organisation is.