After 27 years of failure, it’s time to face the music. If every human life has
the same value, cutting global emissions could be the most important
issue, ever.
Since 1995, the annual UN climate conference (Conference of the Parties
COP to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNFCCC) has aimed to “stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations
in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human
interference with the climate system.” Despite this effort,
global emissions have risen steadily, slowed only by the 2008 financial
crisis and covid-19.
At the start of COP27 (Egypt 2022), UN Secretary General
António Guterres warned “We’re on a
highway to climate hell with our foot still on the
accelerator.” He was ignored. The final document included the
1.5°C goal but no plan to achieve it. The new climate
compensation (loss and damage) fund cannot undo the death and
destruction that we expect beyond 1.5°C.
Everyone agrees that human lives are more important than money. But
COP27 participants weighed up billion-dollar profits against the right
to life of billions of people. Those people could die in unprecedented
fires, floods, famines, droughts, heatwaves, and storms, or due to
rising seas, combined with migration and resultant conflict. Large
areas of Asia and Africa (China, India, Middle East…) risk
becoming uninhabitable. The staggering ethical and legal implications
are not being addressed.
Our demands for COP28 (UAE
2023)
Protect.
Recognize and defend the
right to life of two billion children — especially those in
the more vulnerable Global South. At the same time, protect
biodiversity: a million species are currently threatened with
extinction.
Innovate.
Creatively explore new legal,
political, and economic pathways to massive and immediate global
reductions in fossil fuel extraction.
Prioritize.
Acknowledge that the first
priority is mitigation: to prevent additional warming by leaving fossil
fuels in the ground. The second is adaptation, which includes
compensation for loss and damage. If the bathtub is overflowing, first
turn off the tap, then mop the floor.
End
fossil fuels. Promote the
phasing out of all fossil fuels, with no exceptions. All new projects
and all expansion of existing projects must be stopped. Currently, 96%
of the oil and gas industry is still expanding.
Replace
subsidies by taxes. Our
governments are still spending hundreds of billions of dollars yearly
on fossil fuel subsidies. They should be doing the opposite: taxing
carbon (both domestically and internationally, with carbon border
adjustment mechanisms) and windfall profits. All fossil carbon must be
taxed including aviation kerosene. The proceeds can finance renewable
energy, climate compensation, and poverty alleviation.
Exclude
lobbyists. Fossil fuel
lobbyists at COP have a clear conflict of interest. Anyone whose
financial interests contradict the goals of COP must be excluded.
Hundreds of fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access to COP27.
Clarify
procedures. Establish clear
criteria for consensus at COP28, to enable and facilitate far-reaching
decisions.
Push
for legal reform. Promote the
investigation and punishment of ecocide, which is currently recognized
as a crime by only ten countries. The biggest fossil fuel producers
must be forced to reduce their turnover by any reasonable means
including trial for crimes against humanity. To protect the innocent,
the guilty must be punished. Current progress is too slow.
Advocate
global democracy. To enable
globally binding climate agreements, promote the development
of global democratic structures such as the UN Parliamentary Assembly.
Current progress is too slow.
Show
leadership. To plausibly
lead COP28, UAE must phase out domestic oil and gas production at a
rate consistent with the 1.5°C goal and encourage other
countries to do likewise. UAE is currently planning to increase
production from 3 to 5 million barrels of oil per day.
Cooperate.
To avoid a possible boycott, COP28 organizers must respond honestly and
constructively to these demands.
Please
sign and share the petition hereto defend the right to
life of two billion children.
The opinions expressed on
this page are the
author's personal
opinions. Readers who know and care about this topic are asked to
contact the author with suggestions for
improving or extending the content:
parncutt at gmx dot at. Back
to Richard
Parncutt's homepage
