COP27 Was A Cop Out
Deliberative bodies giveth. And deliberative bodies can taketh away.
“The world has failed to reach an agreement to phase out fossil fuels after marathon UN climate talks were ‘stonewalled’ by a number of oil-producing nations.”
No agreement. No phase out. No limits. Again.
So what’s the point of jetting thousands of people across the planet each year for the tiresome COP rituals of blathering and sniping and hand wringing? (Jetting. No small irony there.)
Ah, but wait. A “loss and damage” fund is to be established! Hooray!
“Negotiators from nearly 200 countries at the COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt took the historic step of agreeing to set up a ‘loss and damage’ fund meant to help vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters…”
What’s not to like about that? you say. Warm fuzzies all around, right?
Excuse me, but this “fund” idea is a perfect example of legislative gimmickry.
Legislative gimmickry? you ask. How so?
Here’s the drill. First, enact a noble piece of legislation reeking of public good. Such as, oh, say, a loss and damage fund.
Yeah? And then?
Then strangulate it with insufficient funding. Or zero it out of budgets altogether.
(Actually, strangulation is more artful. Zeroing is a bit too, um, apparent.)
So it is that deliberative bodies giveth.
And so it is that deliberative bodies can simultaneously taketh away.
Source: “COP27 summit agrees to help climate victims. But it does nothing to stop fossil fuels.”