Post by hasan77 on Feb 14, 2024 23:14:27 GMT -8
Climate Week New York When you strip down the greenwashing, you can see that what the world needs is a climate leader. By Ed King October 1, 2018 image Shutterstock GreenBiz Collage Close Authorship No more bullsh*t, it's time to deliver, as your stereotypical New Yorker might say. That was the message from the One Planet Summit in New York this week, a high profile high powered retort to those who think the Paris Agreement is dead. French President Emmanuel Macron used the word in his off-the-cuff closing address, where he let rip at a culture of greenwashing among business and government. A bit rich, perhaps, given greenhouse gas emissions in France hardly have collapsed under his watch. But it resonated around the meeting.
Donald Trump-plain speak appears to be catching. This year's New York Climate Week has — I'd suggest — been a bit of a reality check on where we are. The science isn't good, as the murmurings South Korea Email List from the upcoming IPCC 1.5C report tell us. The world is running out of bandwidth to prevent dangerous levels of global warming. The politics are tough. The United States is still in the Paris Agreement — it's still serving its notice — but to all intents it has disengaged, leaving a power vacuum. The United States is still in the Paris Agreement — it's still serving its notice — but to all intents it has disengaged, leaving a power vacuum.
So far no one significant has stepped up. Antonio Guterres' speech two weeks ago was an effort to spark leadership, but that will take time. Time is not what we have. 2020 has been designated the key year for all countries to step up with new climate targets. With no clear offer for 2020, the EU is in no position to pretend it's a leader. China is working on its 2020 offer, and despite reports of a coal expansion, it's still within the envelope of its 2030 pledge and conceivably could offer a more ambitious package. But then again, there's the added risk that the fast-growing trade war with the United States could encourage Beijing to help boost growth by upping support for domestic manufacturers and curbing its war on air pollution.
Donald Trump-plain speak appears to be catching. This year's New York Climate Week has — I'd suggest — been a bit of a reality check on where we are. The science isn't good, as the murmurings South Korea Email List from the upcoming IPCC 1.5C report tell us. The world is running out of bandwidth to prevent dangerous levels of global warming. The politics are tough. The United States is still in the Paris Agreement — it's still serving its notice — but to all intents it has disengaged, leaving a power vacuum. The United States is still in the Paris Agreement — it's still serving its notice — but to all intents it has disengaged, leaving a power vacuum.
So far no one significant has stepped up. Antonio Guterres' speech two weeks ago was an effort to spark leadership, but that will take time. Time is not what we have. 2020 has been designated the key year for all countries to step up with new climate targets. With no clear offer for 2020, the EU is in no position to pretend it's a leader. China is working on its 2020 offer, and despite reports of a coal expansion, it's still within the envelope of its 2030 pledge and conceivably could offer a more ambitious package. But then again, there's the added risk that the fast-growing trade war with the United States could encourage Beijing to help boost growth by upping support for domestic manufacturers and curbing its war on air pollution.