With COP 26 almost on us, this is an open thread for all to comment – a place for you to point to COP 26 and related news.

200 Comments

  2. “COP26: Has Boris Johnson got what it takes to get a deal?”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59084086

    “It wasn’t really meant to happen.

    The snappily titled Conference of the Parties, this mammoth environmental, political and diplomatic shindig, or COP26 as it’s known, wasn’t destined to be held in the UK.

    One insider told me “the whole thing was a mistake”. Another said: “It was definitely a quirk”.

    When prospective host Italy seemed to be humming and hawing over it, the cabinet minister at the time, Claire Perry, spotted an opportunity to grab it for the UK.

    Downing Street wasn’t necessarily convinced, the Treasury was said to be even less charitable about the prospect, but one insider suggests: “One B. Johnson, then foreign secretary, thought the idea for the UK to host such a big event after Brexit would be marvellous.”

    Glasgow was chosen because the government wanted the opportunity to “plant Union Jacks and display some of the advantages of the Union” by bringing a massive international event to Scotland.

    Given that the conference only ended up in the UK as a twist of fate, will the government end up being delighted it took the chance or regretting the gamble?

    Getting nearly 200 different countries to actually agree on anything is, politely, a tricky challenge. The choreography of such an event is dizzying. The etiquette of COP meetings is unusual. Rows are likely. Walkouts are possible.”

    Liked by 3 people

  3. Beware of dancing to the GreenBlob’s tune
    Don’t just talk about the things they put in the schedule
    … but talk about the things, THEY are avoiding talking about.

    Liked by 3 people

  5. “COP26: Greta Thunberg on invite to climate change summit”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-59093370

    “Climate change activist Greta Thunberg said it was “very unclear” whether she had been officially invited to the climate change summit in Glasgow.

    In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr, she also spoke about how some countries were sending many delegates to COP26, while others were “under-represented”.”

    Nobody has invited me, despite my interest.

    Like

  7. Meanwhile.
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/glasgow-bin-workers-to-strike-during-cop26
    https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/glasgow-streets-overrun-13-million-25299637
    Glasgow Council leader Susan Aitken dismissed the increase in the rodent population as one or two incidents of “very minor contact with a rat”.
    https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/19677031.glasgow-weather-live-updates-rain-batters-city-glasglow-cancelled-floods-surround-ibrox/
    Doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing the “Gore Effect” this time, just normal Glasgow weather.
    I bet the thousands of hangers-on, will be really disappointed with their visit, I wonder what will be in their goody-bags? Vegan haggis, tartan scarf & a fix of smack?

    Liked by 2 people

  8. “https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10144513/Biden-uses-massive-85-car-motorcade-wind-streets-Rome.html”

    “Biden uses massive 85-car motorcade to wind through streets of Rome to get to his meeting with Pope – which notoriously late president arrived to on time
    Joe and Jill Biden used a massive 85-car motorcade to wind through the streets of Rome on Friday for their meeting with Pope Francis
    It was needed as Italy’s lockdown rules allow only three non-cohabiting people including the driver to be together in a vehicle
    Biden, who is notoriously late, was on time for his meeting with the pope
    The meeting comes after the Vatican abruptly canceled a planned live broadcast of the get-together”

    Like

  9. Alan asks – “Mark. Would you go, really?”

    Actually Alan, if invited, I think I might. It could be very interesting to see in person just how much waste and pointlessness exists at these things, rather than simply hearing and reading about them. Nothing beats first-hand knowledge.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Wake up, sheeple! Clarion the Bear has almost reached COP26!
    http://www.dw.com/en/cop26-climate-summit-activists-alternate-journeys-to-glasgow/av-59660225

    Clarion the Bear’s creator, Bamber Hawes, has said that Clarion is ‘not a bear, he’s a metaphor’ but he hasn’t yet said what that metaphor might be. My guess is that Clarion is meant to be a metaphor for some sort of clarion, but no doubt more will be revealed when the state-funded artist finally reaches COP26 on Monday.

    Like

  11. “Greta Thunberg: Activist calls on banks to stop funding climate ‘destruction'”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59090943

    “Greta Thunberg has called on banks to “stop funding our destruction”, ahead of the UN COP26 climate summit.

    The teenage Swedish climate activist is in London to take part in protests demanding the financial system stops funding fossil fuel projects.

    She told the BBC’s Andrew Marr that “change is possible” at the summit, if pressure on politicians is maintained.

    But she added she has not been “officially” invited to speak at the event in Glasgow.

    The demonstrations against investment in fossil fuel projects come as world leaders gather in the Scottish city ahead of COP26’s opening on Sunday.

    The protest in London is part of a series taking place on Friday at financial centres around the world, including New York, San Francisco and Nairobi.

    Campaigners are calling on banks not to lend money to companies and projects that use fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.”

    Like

  12. “COP26: Climate summit venue becomes UN territory”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-59089946

    “Glasgow’s Scottish Events Campus (SEC) has officially been handed over to the United Nations for the historic COP26 summit.

    The venue now makes up the Blue Zone, and becomes official UN territory for the duration of the global conference.

    The area will be patrolled by armed UN officers and will be under the highest levels of security.

    The UN confirmed the SEC was handed over to it on Friday afternoon ahead of the summit opening on Sunday.”

    Like

  14. Press Gazette : How C4, Times, BBC, Sun, ITV and others are covering Cop26
    The Jon Snow hologram
    https://pressgazette.co.uk/cop26-media-round-up-climate-change-summit/

    The BBC bit

    The BBC has planned extensive coverage for Cop26, using the banner of Our Planet Now for all of its content.
    On the opening day of the conference, the BBC will be hosting a Global Climate Debate, broadcasting from BBC Scotland headquarters and featuring global political figures and a young audience* from around the world.
    * (cherrypicked and groomed I bet)

    The One Show will present from Glasgow during the first week of the conference,
    as well as BBC Two’s Newsnight, the Today Programme, Newshour, and The Andrew Marr Show.

    Just before Cop26 begins, the BBC will host the global premiere for The Green Planet, a five-part series narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

    Additionally, the BBC’s 45 local and national radio stations will work together with the BBC World Service and BBC Media Action
    for the Climate Voices Festival ahead of the summit, in order to voice hopes and concerns of young people about climate change.

    BBC Director-General Tim Davie said: “This summit will be a hugely significant moment in the global response to climate change.
    The BBC’s ambitious plans will engage all audiences through the key moments, issues, and debates.”

    The BBC has set a goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
    (How many degrees will that cool the Earth ?)

    Like

  15. ITV stories
    – https://www.itv.com/news/2021-10-29/confused-about-cop26-and-carbon-emissions-read-our-guide-to-key-climate-terms

    Long article explaining how the will rig soap operas to insert Climate Change etc.
    https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/itv-announces-climate-action-week-plans

    Italy’s government is encouraging households to convert their living spaces into eco-homes by covering 110% of the cost, reports
    (Italy is a MAFIA country you idiots !)
    https://www.itv.com/news/2021-10-21/italy-offering-to-pay-full-cost-of-upgrading-to-green-homes-plus-a-bonus

    There are dozens more COP26 stories

    Like

  16. Tonight my local ITV news had another long item on COP26
    .. followed by a trailer for a prog asking “Is Windpower a climate panacea ?”

    Other areas had an electric car item

    Like

  17. eg Tuesday ITV
    8:00pm Saving The Planet: Saving Money? Tonight
    *Scientist* and weather presenter Laura Tobin explores what a carbon-zero Britain will look like, and asks if the country is ready to ditch fossil fuels and switch to green energy.
    Could our coal mining past help pave the way for a greener future, and as energy costs continue to increase, what can people do to save money and save the planet?
    * (She has no advanced science qualification)

    8:30pm Orkney : Britain’s Green Islands with Julia Bradbury and Alex Beresford
    immersing themselves in island life and learning about the progress being made here towards a greener future.
    the world’s first hydrogen-hybrid ferry.
    Alex takes a speedboat out to sea to learn more about revolutionary tidal turbine technology

    9:00pmIt Takes a Flood
    Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald and co-directors Daniel Dewsbury and David Charap takes viewers inside the homes of people seriously affected by the increasingly ferocious floods hitting the country. They include the man whose house was flooded up to the gutter after Storm Ciara in 2020
    Shortferry flooded cos the EA bank broke
    If we’d all had bought electric cars that wouldn’t have happened ?

    Fishlake flooded cos the EA bank overtopped
    If we’d all had bought electric cars that would the EA have bothered to do better dredging and better preparation ?
    (Their new Sheffield anti flood work diverted water to Fishlake)
    Likewise on the Ouse the M^” had been built across the land and water couldn’t get through the drainage culverts due to poor maintenance

    Like

  18. BBC local news opened with
    “we’ll be having a long item is Climate Change important to you ?”

    Then
    “Next week your stories about going green EVERY NIGHT”
    .. then we got a clip with first Greta and then Arnie

    FFS this is like when the school bully gang held me in the den until I peed my pants.
    Massive psychological warfare

    This time the school bully gang are stealing all my money
    and spending it all at the Green Mafia tuck shop on Electric car, windfarm and solar sweets

    Liked by 1 person

  19. “‘If we don’t act now it will be too late’, warns Johnson ahead of Cop26
    Prime minister says ‘too many countries doing too little’ amid last-minute talks before summit”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/29/boris-johnson-cop26-climate-warning-rome-g20-dont-act-now-too-late

    “World leaders have been warned that Cop26 must “mark the beginning of the end of climate change” amid last-minute talks that could help determine the future of the planet.

    With the long-awaited environmental summit due to start on Monday, Boris Johnson issued his plea while saying “too many countries are still doing too little”.

    Speaking en route to Italy to meet other prime ministers and presidents from the G20 group of industrialised nations, Johnson said that without action the modern world could suffer the same fate as the Roman empire and go into dramatic decline.

    “Humanity, civilisation, society, can go backwards as well as forwards, and when things start to go wrong they can go wrong at extraordinary speed,” he said.

    “You saw that with the decline and fall of the Roman empire, and I’m afraid to say that it’s true today that unless we get this right in tackling climate change, we could see our civilisation, our world also go backwards.””

    Good analogy Boris – wrong conclusion.

    Like

  20. I was going to post more from the Guardian, but inevitably it’s overwhelming this morning, and it’s all the same – just minor variations on a theme. The BBC, meanwhile, is also going overboard, but does show a little more variety in its propaganda:

    “COP26: Church bells ring out for climate change action”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-59094176

    [Why?]

    And

    “COP26: Where does NI stand on climate change?”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-59067833

    [Does it matter?]

    And

    “COP26: What do the poorest countries want from climate summit?”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59054696

    [Money, of course]

    And

    “COP26: African climate activists’ message to world leaders”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-africa-59076452

    And

    “Edinburgh warned to prepare for COP26 disruption”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-59097289

    And

    “COP26: ‘Show consideration’ during climate protests”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-59097693

    [Fat chance].

    Like

  21. BBC Local news : Churches across the country will be ringing their bells at 6pm for Climate Action ahead of COP26
    … That’s outrageous that the minority that are in the warped climate cult get to lord it over the rest of us and hijack community resources.
    Their policies are based a million miles away from proper maths and science.

    Like

  22. PJW tweets

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Hi Stew

    I wonder if PJW’s tweet was influenced by Old Holborn’s earlier tweet?

    Holby also pointed out LBC’s report:

    “US president Joe Biden took an 85-car motorcade to his meeting with the Pope, according to a report.

    It comes days before Mr Biden’s attendance at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow.”

    https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/joe-biden-motorcade-pope-meeting/

    The carbon footprint of flying the convoy of heavily-armoured limos for Sleepy Joe, his bodyguards, bag carriers and other assorted advisors (inc Nuke Launch-Code memorisor), from the USA to Rome, then onto the UK will be enormous.

    Like

  24. Page 15 of today’s Guardian 20-page special pullout souvenir supplement about COP26:

    Are we to believe this is accidental?

    Like

  25. Meanwhile the Guardian also presents a handy daily schedule. Today’s festivities are:
    1) The pre-COP summit of “climate and energy ministers” and
    2) “Extinction Rebellion is holding a “colourful, joyful” procession through the streets of Glasgow from 2.30pm starting at McLennan Arch.”

    Like

  26. I would like to think it is accidental. After all, they aren’t known as the Grauniad for nothing. On the other hand… And the sad thing is that many of their readers will know no better.

    Like

  27. I see that BBC Breakfast did a hard-hitting interview of Professor Myles Allen and Dr Jennifer Allan this morning on COP26. Here is Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt given them a grilling.

    My favourite bit is where Naga says, “We hear deadlines – 2060, 2050, depending on the various countries – well okay we’ll sign up to it but we are not going to do it for 40 years, when all we hear in various reports is that we need action now, we needed it 20 years ago”.

    My other favourite bit is when she refers to the IPCC as the ‘Intergovernmental Planet on Climate Change’.

    That woman is on fire!

    Liked by 1 person

  30. Mark, I have to admit that even the graphic designer at the Guardian must have known that +10 C in the last 100 years was implausible.

    However, as part of the same data page, they also provide a graph of Arctic sea ice extent in September. I thought there was something odd about the figure, and it took me a moment to realise that they had not included this year’s data, which just by coincidence shows an increase of a million sq km or so.

    There’s also a graph of plunging Li-ion battery costs since 2010, data provided by Bloomberg NEF. I am naturally suspicious of this outfit’s data. The price of Li-ion batteries must depend in large part on the raw materials, and the cost of Li has more-or-less quintupled in the past 12 months. Something else I need to get to the bottom of.

    Liked by 3 people

  31. Half page advert in today’s Times
    Who pays for all this non-productive PR ?
    The public do, in leccy bills
    & everything else they pay for

    retweeted by Boris .. https://www.twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1445808102083727366

    Liked by 1 person

  35. It seems the Messiah has landed:

    “COP26: Greta Thunberg mobbed as activists gather in Glasgow”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-59102422

    “Thousands of activists arrived in Scotland’s largest city to make their climate change concerns known.

    They included Greta Thunberg who was mobbed as she arrived by train in Glasgow.

    The Swedish activist was surrounded by police, media and activists at the city’s Central Station.

    Earlier, faith groups making pilgrimages to Glasgow converged in the city as protests build ahead of COP26 which starts on Sunday.

    Many had walked thousands of miles to join in a procession through the city centre.”

    “Messiah” doesn’t seem to be putting it too strongly, given the religious nature of the shenanigans, with the BBC referring to “pilgrimages” and people walking thousands of miles to be there. The only surprise is that they didn’t walk barefoot while self-flagellating along the way.

    Like

  37. To watch that Neil Oliver video I had to watch the start of advert videos YouTube shoved at me
    First video was a dystopian one telling me to go vegan
    Second time around I was fed a Unicef think of the Climate Children advert
    #brainwashing

    Like

  41. Stew, thanks for that Neil Oliver video – superb stuff. We’re all aware of the hypocrisy, of course, of many of those attending COP 26, but rarely can it have been articulated quite so brilliantly.

    Like

  42. “COP26: Antarctic glacier is named in honour of Glasgow”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59094079

    “A previously unnamed glacier in West Antarctica is to be called Glasgow Glacier to mark the Scottish city’s hosting of the COP26 climate meeting.

    The 100km-long ice stream is in a region of the White Continent known to be experiencing rapid melting.

    Eight other nearby glaciers will also carry the names of cities where important climate reports were issued, or policies were agreed.

    They include Geneva, which held the very first climate conference in 1979.”

    Presumably they don’t think the glaciers are going to melt any time soon, otherwise what would be the point of naming them?

    Liked by 1 person

  43. “Climate change and Wales: Where we are in charts”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-58706283

    More shameless propaganda. When I saw the headline, I thought it was going to be a story about adverse moves in the Welsh climate, complete with graphs and back-up in the way of links and historical data. I should have know better. There are 10 sections, the first of which is:

    “Cows and cars – what’s behind the emissions in Wales?”

    I should have known better than to assume the headline would inform me about the story. There is no story, it’s just propaganda.

    Like

  44. Today’s program, as summarised by yesterday’s pull-out and keep guide from the Guardian:
    1) “The procedural opening of Cop26 in Glasgow. Day two of the pre-cop summit in Milan.”
    2) “Kicking off the fringe events is the Cop26 Vigil in George Square, Glasgow, an interfaith prayer and meditation event, which can also be joined online.”

    Like

  45. I’ve just read that after COP 27 in Egypt, COP 28 is to take place in Qatar. If they really believed their own propaganda (surely it must be insufferably hot there?), they wouldn’t go there. Yet they seem to like it – after all, they’ve been before, in 2012:

    “Doha climate talks: Will ‘hot air’ derail the process?”

    “The right of some rich countries to keep using “hot air” carbon permits could hamper progress at UN climate talks starting on Monday in Qatar.

    With the Kyoto Protocol running out at the end of the year, several countries want to carry over unused carbon allowances.

    Campaigners say this “hot air” could render new carbon cuts meaningless.

    And there are fears that old fault lines between rich and poor will prevent any significant developments.

    More than 17,000 participants are expected in the Qatari capital Doha for the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,

    Some surprise has been expressed at the choice of venue. Qatar, rich in oil and particularly gas, has some of the highest per-capita carbon emissions in the world.

    But Nick Nuttall, a spokesman for the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep), told BBC News that he praised the “courage” of Qatar in hosting the meeting.

    “Some of these countries that we thought in the past were not serious about climate change, were not into renewable energy, are now signalling very strongly that they want to be part of the solution.

    “The signals we are getting from the Qatari administration is that they now want to start doing things on climate change and this is maybe their first big step.”

    Hosting a conference is one thing. Making progress is another.

    This year’s meeting comes just a month before the expiration of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, the world’s most significant global agreement on reducing emissions of carbon dioxide.

    Last year in South Africa, negotiators agreed what is called the Durban Platform. The nub of this was a trade off – the richer countries would extend their carbon cutting beyond 2013 via an extension of the Kyoto Protocol. In return, the developing nations would negotiate a new deal by 2015 that would commit all countries, including emerging super-powers like India and China, to reduce emissions from 2020.”

    It’s all so wearily familiar.

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  46. It’s behind a paywall, unfortunately:

    “The Climate Summit to Nowhere
    From awful timing to unrealistic goals, COP26 has it all.”

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-climate-summit-to-nowhere-glasgow-cop26-joe-biden-11635543010

    “World leaders converge on Glasgow for a climate summit this weekend, and don’t laugh. This may be the worst-timed summit in history, but the delegates can still do substantial damage to the global economy, though none of it will matter to the climate.

    It’s incongruous bordering on the bizarre to organize a summit like this while Europe is battening down for a winter fuel crisis, President Biden is begging OPEC to produce more oil, China is firing up its coal-fueled power plants amid an electricity shortage, and climate-change plans wilt as soon as they’re exposed to the sunlight of democratic politics….”.

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  47. “Coal countries balk at G20 phaseout calls
    Australia, India, China and Russia hold out against a push to target coal.”

    https://www.politico.eu/article/coal-g20-rome/

    “ROME — A group of coal users and coal exporters is blocking efforts for the G20 to call for an end to coal use — something organizers had hoped would send a powerful signal ahead of COP26 climate talks starting Sunday.

    Diplomats from the U.K. and Continental Europe are pressing for a commitment by the large economies to phase out coal, a fuel responsible for about 44 percent of man-made CO2 emissions.

    But Australia, India, China and Russia are holding out, a European diplomat said.

    Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison arrived in Rome after a bloody fight to set a domestic net-zero emissions target for 2050 — a goal that pointedly does not aim to halt the country’s lucrative coal exports.

    “We are not engaged in those sort of mandates and bans. That’s not the Australian government’s policy, it won’t be the Australian government’s policy,” Morrision said after talking to French President Emmanuel Macron, who asked him to commit to ending the production and consumption of coal at home and abroad.

    A spokesperson for U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the British hosts of the COP26 climate summit would continue to push Morrison: “We do believe Australia can do more on areas such as coal.”

    The G20 leaders will discuss climate change and energy on Sunday morning. Also on the table in draft agreements seen by POLITICO were deals to end international coal finance, ramp up action during the 2020s, reach net-zero emissions “by mid-century,” and halt the construction of new coal plants “in the 2030s.” Negotiations were continuing on Saturday evening and none of the specific language had been settled.”

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  48. “The Glasgow climate change summit explained
    Everything you need to know about COP26.”

    https://www.politico.eu/article/glasgow-climate-summit-explained-cop26-cop-26/

    “What is the COP and what’s happening in Glasgow?
    The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) compels its 197 members to fight global warming but doesn’t offer much in terms of detail, so the signatories meet regularly to work on steps for implementing the treaty’s aims.

    This meeting is known as the COP, or conference of the parties. A COP summit has taken place nearly every year since 1995, hosted by a different country each time.

    The upcoming COP — delayed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic — is the 26th such summit, and will be hosted by the U.K. government in Glasgow between October 31 and November 12.

    Some 25,000 people are expected to travel to Glasgow, including representatives from governments, civil society and industry. More than 100 world leaders will attend, though they won’t stay the full two weeks. …

    …How are things looking so far?
    Not great. Countries had to submit climate action plans to the U.N. as part of the Paris Agreement, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). They were supposed to send in updated pledges ahead of COP26, but only 116 signatories have done so.

    The U.N. recently warned current NDCs, including updated ones, have the world heading toward 2.7°C of warming. But a recent IPCC report found 1.5°C remains technically possible if governments take rapid and far-reaching action to reduce emissions.

    Who’s gonna pay for all this?
    Answering this question will be key to the talks’ success.

    The massive decarbonization needed to limit warming to safe levels will require equally massive investments, especially in the developing world. The International Energy Agency, for example, said this month that investment in clean energy needs to triple by 2030 to achieve net zero by mid-century, largely in developing and emerging economies.

    It’s a tall order for poorer countries. That’s why in 2009, wealthy nations pledged to raise $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to the consequences of climate change. They’re falling short: In 2019, the most recent data available, less than $80 billion was raised, and a report by Canada and Germany this week found the goal won’t be met until 2023.

    Developing countries have stressed that keeping the climate finance promise is key to getting their support for more ambitious goals, putting pressure on rich countries to step up funding…

    …Many eyes will be on China. President Xi Jinping’s announcement on ending overseas coal funding made headlines, but Beijing’s current pledges, which include a climate neutrality goal for 2060, are regarded as insufficient. Xi is not expected to be in Glasgow.

    Other major emitters that have so far rejected calls for more ambitious climate targets for the 2020s include Russia, Brazil and Australia. India, which relies on coal for 70 percent of its electricity generation, will also find itself in the spotlight.

    The G20 nations — together responsible for some 80 percent of global emissions — are all facing calls to step up their pledges.

    And finally … isn’t this a massive superspreader event?
    COP26 was postponed from November 2020 because of the pandemic. Even though the coronavirus crisis is far from over, the U.K. decided to go ahead with the talks in person this year given the importance of face-to-face negotiations. The pandemic will nevertheless have an impact, with concerns developing countries won’t be able to fully participate.

    The U.K. has relaxed its entry rules ahead of COP26, recognizing all vaccines and offering jabs to delegates. Vaccinated attendees from red zone countries still have to quarantine for five days, and unvaccinated attendees for 10 days. For all attendees, the U.K. says a “robust testing protocol” will be in place, including daily tests to enter the conference venue.

    “Despite all these precautions there are likely to be cases of COVID,” wrote Richard Smith, chair of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, in a blog post for the British Medical Journal. Delegates from developing economies, where vaccination rates are lower, “are potentially at most risk of both catching and spreading COVID,” he added. “But it is people from these countries who are also most at risk from climate change.””

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  49. Stew, that is terrific from Neil Oliver, thank you. I can’t help but repeat…

    Note Oliver’s brilliant use of St Francis. Which reminds me of today’s COP programme courtesy of Jit:

    2) “Kicking off the fringe events is the Cop26 Vigil in George Square, Glasgow, an interfaith prayer and meditation event, which can also be joined online.”

    As usual ‘religious people’ are a mixed bag. Often useless, sometimes priceless. Sheep and goats, even.

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  50. To quote famous climate perfesser Greta T.
    who summarized COP26 in advance

    “Blah Blah Blah”

    What else does one need to know?
    The climate liars will fly in on 1,000 private jets.
    Then claim the coming climate crisis is
    “worse than worse than we thought”

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  51. LBC Magid Nawaz prog is sounding reasonably fair as normal
    “I don’t care what side you are on re COP26 I will listen call me”

    He’s talking about
    #1 The Covid passport hypocrisy
    #2 The VIP CO2 hypocrisy ..especially P Charles

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  52. “Trending now
    COP26
    Fallen trees on train tracks cause delays for people en route to COP26 talks”

    Next week they’ll probably be seeding clouds to prevent snow

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  54. I see alarmists replying about Oliver
    “See that is a conspiracy theorist line, he’s become a GRIFTER”

    So basically they are saying about Oliver “he’s not about, what he says he’s about” ?
    ..and they have *a conspiracy theory* that he speaks for money only

    Projection is a libmob characteristic.

    Liked by 1 person

  55. Oliver is saying
    “it’s not about what they say it’s about
    cos their own actions CONTRADICT that” ie there’s evidence

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  56. ‘So basically they are saying about Oliver “he’s not about, what he says he’s about” ?
    ..and they have *a conspiracy theory* that he speaks for money only.’

    Golly, that’s desperate. It’s hard to think of anyone who would be less about money.

    Liked by 2 people

  57. Having been impressed by Oliver’s call for world leaders and assorted magnates to live a life of self-sacrifice, to mirror what they wish to impose on their lessers, I was amused to read about this detail from the start of the First World War, from Andrew Roberts’ excellent biography of Winston Churchill. The King, Lord Kitchener, head of the armed forces, and Lloyd George, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, all made a pledge not to drink alcohol for the duration of the war. This made the first two much grumpier than usual. LG broke the pledge very quickly but pretended he hadn’t. WSC thought the whole idea was ridiculous from the start and said so.

    Despite my respect for St Francis I know where my vote goes there!

    Liked by 2 people

  58. Neil Oliver: “..China, which knocks out a quarter of the world’s filthy emissions…”

    Sorry, but he’s not on our side. He’s criticising the COP circus for not doing enough.
    He’s also bought the “China bad” story, which, if spelled out in all its logic, would prefer a billion people not to have been lifted out of desperate poverty.

    Like

  59. Geoff: I took “filthy emissions” to mean that China has been using a lot of coal. Towards the end (6m45s goes straight there) he says he’s open-minded, open to be persuaded that emission reduction is important.

    He’s not claiming to be on our side but he’s open. I don’t think we can complain at that, in comparison to others.

    There’s no practical prospect of a billion people in China being forced back into poverty, as a result of a XR delegation to President Xi, say, but I take your point there.

    Liked by 1 person

  60. This morning’s Marr Show was, predictably, almost entirely about COP26. The opening monologue included some assertions that were entirely groundless – and one that was inexcusably so. Marr said that at +2C coral reefs would be wiped off the planet. (He may have repeated this later to a guest, and was not challenged if so. I can’t remember.) Anyway, if anyone makes that claim an instant dismissal is: “Is there any part of the ocean that is shallow enough but presently too cold for coral?”

    Anyway, after the monologue and the papers we had Alok Sharma, then Tina Stege (I can’t remember her surname exactly: she was the climate spokesperson of the Marshall Islands). After that we had Ed Milliband, and as the star turn, Greta.

    I mention this because the only time Marr actually had Sharma the least bit discomfited was when he pushed him into Greta’s Corner. This corner is the realm of the hypocrite, who says that the planet is doomed unless critical action is taken at once – but at the same time refuses to take such action. Thus Marr asking about the Cambo field or the air passenger duty was the only time he landed a blow.

    Now, this obviously doesn’t favour us except inasmuch as there is a glimmer there that when push comes to shove, some moves are off the table. They would not be off the table if there was a genuine emergency.

    When Oliver pushes the argument into Greta’s Corner, he is similarly exposing climate change as a non-emergency. Most people would instinctively understand this I think, so it’s a worthwhile angle.

    Liked by 4 people

  61. Speaking of BBC predictability, I’ve just taken a look at the front page of the news section of the BBC website, and counted 13 separate climate change/COP 26-related stories. Even by the BBC’s standards, I think that’s a bit much.

    Liked by 1 person

  62. One of the 13 stories:

    “Storm disruption holds up COP26 travellers from Euston station”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-59110091

    “Travellers heading to Scotland for the COP26 climate summit have been left stranded by major rail disruption caused by “intense storms”.

    Hundreds of people were left at London’s Euston station when fallen trees meant all trains were suspended.

    The disruption was initially caused by damage to overhead electrical wires between Rugby and Milton Keynes.

    Network Rail said trains had been able to resume using a diversion only for that route to then also become blocked.

    An update said further damage on the diversion route via Northampton meant trains had stopped running in and out of Euston again….

    …Climate change scientist Simon Lewis has been stuck on a train for more than three hours as a result of the disruption.

    The University College London professor was on the 11:00 GMT service to Edinburgh, which came to a halt 45 minutes after departure and had still not made Peterborough – the first stop – several hours later.

    He said: “This is inconvenient and a reminder that climate change drives extreme weather events and every country needs to adapt.”

    Another passenger decided to book a flight to Glasgow after passengers were told to get off the train after waiting for half an hour.

    David Johnson, attending Cop26 as chief executive of the Margaret Pyke Trust – a UK-based international non-governmental organisation – acknowledged flying from Gatwick “does, of course, seem ridiculous”.

    “The irony of the climate impacting the trains, meaning a flight to the climate change conference is the only way to get there today, is not lost on me,” he added….”.

    No, Mr Johnson – it doesn’t SEEM ridiculous; it IS ridiculous.

    Noting that the Margaret Pyke Trust is a birth control organisation, I was working on a limerick about his premature evacuation from Euston to Gatwick, but then I decided that was childish, so didn’t bother.

    Like

  63. Superb, Mark, and sorry about the missing limerick.

    Climate change scientist Simon Lewis has been stuck on a train for more than three hours as a result of the disruption.

    The University College London professor was on the 11:00 GMT service to Edinburgh, which came to a halt 45 minutes after departure and had still not made Peterborough – the first stop – several hours later.

    He said: “This is inconvenient and a reminder that climate change drives extreme weather events and every country needs to adapt.

    Strangely enough it reminds of something totally different: that you should all be doing this meeting virtually, using tools like Zoom and Google Meet, saving tons of money and carbon emissions. Instead you’re stuck on a train between London and Peterborough.

    And people say there’s no God 😉

    Liked by 3 people

  65. Over on open Mic I just mentioned today’s ITV item : a wind trailer for tmw
    After the prog we had an ITV Black History Month ident

    Before that prog at 6:50pm we had an ITV Climate Action Week trailer
    a week of special programmes to coincide with #COP26 this November
    https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/current-affairs/itv-climate-action-week-newsupdate/

    Like

  66. I am sure I mentioned it yesterday, but just now I forgot
    Direct link to https://youtu.be/a8OKkZHs6RE?t=892
    past the 14 minute countdown screen to the beginning of the1 hour of guests

    #1 Ben Pile Mentions that his guests are experts normally excluded cos they don’t conform to the establishment bubbleworld
    and cos they talk about the true eyewatering costs that the poor will be bearing
    #2 Talks about how the real agenda is pushing Utopian Dream

    #3 Dr Benny Peiser .. The Net-Zero-Watch rebrand
    And how his mission is to inform people that COP26 seems to be a wealth redistribution exercise
    ..from POOR to rich ..as the poor will pay higher energy prices

    Benny “10 years ago Boris said the opposite of this Net Zero campaigning”
    … actually just 2 or 3 years ago I think.
    Benny then talks about the great academic purge of non-conformists, to get the on-message bubbleworld today.

    Liked by 1 person

  67. #4 How GreenBlob are trying to say
    “we would be much further, but lying skeptics have so much power, they have held up the Green revolution”

    #5 Benny mentioned he was a founder member of the German Green Party
    and how now in government that party has done a reverse
    and is calling gas “a sustainable fuel” and has agreed to the subsidising of it
    (I guess that means certain German consumers are be given a temporary subsidy to cover the recent price hikes.

    #6 Benny claims he can see a change
    : columnists are asking the cost questions they refused to ask before.

    The idea that Green Policies are a New Poll Tax
    “The idea that green energy would be cheaper was a lie”
    “People are feeling cheated”

    Like

  68. Tmw Austin Williams : topic : Eco-Colonialism & racism
    eg. the idea that Western mainly whitey Marie Antoinettes are saying to Africans
    “No you can’t have a cheap gas fueled electricity grid
    .. you have to have a costly complicated grid made up of solar/wind/ biofuels and demand curtailment.”

    Like

  69. When Neil Oliver says
    “it’s not about, what they say it’s about.”
    That not only applies to COP26
    and Climate Alarmists talk

    but that question could be applied to many other things
    As we know most news is really PR
    so there are “ulterior motives”
    and “hidden agendas”
    Two different phrases that mean the same as ” it’s not about what they say it’s about”

    Liked by 1 person

  70. Irony alert:

    “COP26: Aircraft carrying world leaders excite planespotters”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-59114688

    “As world leaders and delegates descend on Glasgow for COP26, Scotland’s airports have been filling up with planes from across the globe.

    Planespotters at Prestwick Airport in South Ayrshire described the conference as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to spot aircraft not normally seen in Scotland.

    Over the past week, cargo planes have been spotted arriving, with some carrying motorcade vehicles and helicopters.

    Aircraft from Africa, the Middle East and South America were among those that touched down on the opening day of the conference.”

    Like

  71. Quelle surprise:

    “Biden at G20: Russia and China ‘didn’t show up’ on climate”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-59113437

    “US President Joe Biden has addressed disappointment by some about what was agreed at the G20 ahead of COP26.

    Speaking in Rome, Mr Biden said China and Russia “basically didn’t show up” on matters of the climate.

    Neither China’s President Xi Jinping, nor Russia’s Vladimir Putin, were in Italy’s capital for the conference, instead joining via video link.”

    The irony, of course, is that their joining by video link is a lot “greener” than Joe’s arriving by private jet and 86 car convoy.

    Liked by 1 person

  72. “Optimism for Cop26: every bit of heating we prevent reduces suffering
    Damian Carrington”

    https://www.theguardian.com/membership/2021/nov/01/optimism-for-cop26-every-bit-of-heating-we-prevent-reduces-suffering

    There’s so much wrong with this article, but I’ll settle on a single paragraph, as I have things to do today:

    “Green solutions are often better than the thing they are replacing – they are frequently cleaner, quieter, and they will be cheaper when produced at scale. So they will win out. Anyone who has ever driven an electric car will know how fantastic they are to drive. They are also cheaper to run, maintain, and within a few years they will be cheaper to buy in the first place. Most models can now do 200 miles without stopping, which is probably ample for most journeys.”

    I suppose it’s as well he didn’t decide to focus on heat pumps in this paragraph, given that they’re expensive and disruptive to install, expensive to run, and provide less heat than a gas boiler. As for electric cars. They are only cheaper to run because despite being expensive, electricity is cheaper than diesel and petrol because of the taxes loaded on petrol and diesel. Only someone who hasn’t been paying attention could possibly think that electric cars won’t be taxed just as highly once we’re not allowed to drive petrol and diesel cars. The government will have to replace all that lost VAT and fuel duty somehow. They’re already subsidised by the taxpayer, and are still considerably more expensive to buy than their diesel and petrol counterparts. As for “Most models can now do 200 miles without stopping”, that’s possibly true, at least when it’s not cold and wet and when you don’t have the radio on, and that’s fine for people just tootling about town, but if he thinks that’s “better than the thing they are replacing”, then he’s seriously deluded. My diesel car comfortably does 700 miles on a single tank of diesel on a run, and I never have range anxiety. It’ll be a long time – if ever – before an electric car ever comes near to that. If electric cars were better than the alternative, they wouldn’t have to subsidise them and seek down the line to ban the alternative, because customers would be flocking to buy them. The fact that they’re not doing so demonstrates that Mr Carrington is flat wrong.

    Liked by 3 people

  73. I was saddened to see such travel disruption yesterday caused to the COP26 delegates on their way to Glasgow. But as climate scientist Simon Lewis said: “This is… a reminder that climate change drives extreme weather events and every country needs to adapt.”

    The BBC spoke of ‘intense storms’ and so I suppose this confirms Simon’s assessment. Except, could someone please remind me what this storm was called? All the Met Office did was to issue a warning of a brief period of damaging winds as a “squally band of rain passes through Lincolnshire and the East Midlands”. They also issued yellow weather warnings for coasts of Wales, Devon and Cornwall, and southern parts of England. No mention of a storm.

    But there you go, we live in a country in which bands of squally rain can cause such disruption and t’was ever so. The likes of Simon Lewis would have you believe that the extreme is now the new normal, but it is actually a case of the normal now being the new extreme.

    Liked by 3 people

  74. Planespotters at Prestwick Airport in South Ayrshire described the conference as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to spot aircraft not normally seen in Scotland.

    As Wikipedia has it in my specially edited edition of 2050:

    Planespotting is the first novel by Scottish writer Irving Walsh, first published in 2021. It takes the form of a collection of short stories, written in either Scots, Scottish English or British English, revolving around various residents of Planet Earth who either use fossil fuels, are friends of the core group of fossil fuel users, or engage in other hypocritical activities that are effectively addictions.

    Too gritty for Danny Boyle, the film, a searing screwball comedy, was eventually made by Martin Durkin.

    Liked by 2 people

  75. John
    It wasn’t so much the storm as the wrong sort of tree on the line. According to another Guardian article, foresters are ready to plant a million more of the right sort, except that, according to the arboriculturists, there’s a shortage due to 1) people ordering too many 2) people not ordering enough due to council red tape 3) not enough saplings 4) not enough staff to plant the saplings 5) difficulty in importing saplings due to Brexit 6) not enough space to plant the saplings 7) farmers using up land to grow food. That’s what climate disruption does to a country that isn’t prepared.

    Liked by 2 people

  76. Mark Hodgson

    “…every bit of heating we prevent reduces suffering Damian Carrington”

    You made my day with that headline. I’ve been suffering Damian Carrington for as long as I can remember. Damian finds electric cars fantastic to drive. You can charge them tax free, drive them in bus lanes, and park free of charge in some places. You save time and money and can feel superior about it. And they accelerate fast and silently, which is not so fantastic for pedestrians used to calculating from the buzz of a petrol engine at 100 yards how much time they have to cross the road.

    Liked by 2 people

  77. John,

    “The BBC spoke of ‘intense storms’ and so I suppose this confirms Simon’s assessment. Except, could someone please remind me what this storm was called? All the Met Office did was to issue a warning of a brief period of damaging winds as a “squally band of rain passes through Lincolnshire and the East Midlands”.”

    It wasn’t a ‘storm’ more a mini-tornado:

    “Multiple trees down over a large area around Tallington, more have come down since the line was reopened, hence trains all stuck again.
    BBC reporting a mini tornado struck Long Buckby area with a tweet from Earl Spencer showing multiple trees down at Althorpe near Long Buckby: Storm disruption at Euston station holds up COP26 travellers – BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-59110091”

    But the underlying reason is that the government tried to do the ECML on the cheap, and has been paying the price in terms of disruption and patchwork upgrading ever since.

    Liked by 1 person

  78. This morning’s Mike Graham show..guns blazing against COP26 Croc-o-shite
    Wonder what Nick Ferrari was saying
    Top actor James O’Brien still doing his act after 10am

    Liked by 1 person

  80. Tosh I went out on the bike 3 weeks ago
    and picked up dozens of acorns and hazelnuts
    It wasn’t like there were lots of green-activists gathering them up
    I put some in plantpots
    and used a stick to put between fields and the road.

    Like

  82. Bill,

    You say ‘tornado’ and I say ‘tornardo’.

    Actually, we are British. We don’t have tornados, we call them squalls.

    Like

  83. Tornadoes twirl, squalls line up.

    I found it rather difficult to believe being told, when living in Saskatchewan where we saw several tornadoes every year, that the land of my birth (England) has more tornadoes per land area than any other country on Earth. I’ve never seen one here, but once saw seven of them descending from one storm near Regina.

    Liked by 1 person

  84. “Tornadoes twirl, squalls line up”.

    Alan, I do not think this is the sort of debate that benefits from scientific accuracy 🙂

    Like

  85. ITV local news at the end of the prog 5 presenters are queuing up for their £10,000 cheques from the the BIg Green Hedgefund man who is supervising the prog.

    They didn’t half lay it on thick as they made the entire 30 mins a giant advert for Green Dream gimmicks primarily windfarms
    live presenters from the wind fam in the North Sea, the windfarm factory a farm etc.

    BBC local news was then late cos Kirsty Wark was overrunning by 2 minutes
    and now it’s started it’s in a similar vein to the ITV show
    another giant advert for Big Green Hedgefunds
    I’ve had to turn the sound off.

    Like

  86. “the UK is the country with the most Tornadoes on Earth
    It’s just that they are very small so people don’t notice them”
    .. Our local weather presenter says

    Like

  87. Archbishop of Canterbury apologises for ‘Nazi’ climate comments

    Typical view from libmob Twitter

    Not a fan of priests (of any religion) sermonizing, or of Holocaust comparisons in general,
    but I think that Welby’s comparison between politicians in the 1930s ignoring the danger of Nazi Germany and politicians today ignoring climate change is a valid one.

    Actually : Plenty of religious cults have made doomsday predictions
    and we have been right to call them out.

    Like

  88. I see that the Guardian and the BBC are sort of celebrating Modi of India’s statement, and both are calling it a “pledge” – though like Xi’s aspirational language some time ago, which they also wrongly labelled a pledge, it is no such thing. And of course, it’s an aspiration for 2070 only, so far in the future as to be meaningless even if it ere a pledge (which it isn’t). As reported by the BBC, what it actually is, is a “target”, which is far from the same thing as a pledge.

    I should have thought this was a disastrous start to the COP, yet it’s being celebrated (according to the BBC: “Most headlines are using words like “big” and “major” to describe the announcement, our correspondent reports.”). Do they WANT to make progress?

    “COP26: India PM Narendra Modi pledges net zero by 2070”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-59125143

    “India has announced plans to cut its emissions to net zero by 2070….

    …Mr Modi announced that his country would adopt a net zero emissions target – by 2070….

    …But there has been a general welcome for the goal….”

    Yes, it’s a goal, an aspiration. It is not a pledge. Fake news.

    …

    Like

  89. John,

    “You say ‘tornado’ and I say ‘tornardo’.”

    Let’s just say ‘60163’

    “Actually, we are British. We don’t have tornados, we call them squalls.”

    I thought the English was ‘whirlwind’?

    Like

  90. I did listen to the livestream with Heaton at 8pm
    Some other people like Claire Fox said it was great
    but I was disappointed that Heaton was not more structured
    I think he has a lot of good points I didn’t hear

    Like

  91. FFS pledge dates are PR not science
    It makes such a big difference if tech changes
    say fusion or if they ever got CCS to work
    Its better to build one fusion reactor in 20 years time
    vs 1000 new wind farms in 5

    Like

  92. “Cop26: world leaders agree deal to end deforestation
    Historic declaration at Cop26 commits countries to ending major cause of CO2 emissions”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/01/biden-bolsonaro-and-xi-among-leaders-agreeing-to-end-deforestation-aoe

    “World leaders have agreed a deal that aims to halt and reverse global deforestation over the next decade as part of a multibillion-dollar package to tackle human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

    Xi Jinping, Jair Bolsonaro and Joe Biden are among the leaders who will commit to the declaration at Cop26 in Glasgow on Tuesday to protect vast areas, ranging from the eastern Siberian taiga to the Congo basin, home to the world’s second largest rainforest.

    Land-clearing by humans accounts for almost a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, largely deriving from the destruction of the world’s forests for agricultural products such as palm oil, soy and beef.

    By signing the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forest and Land Use, presidents and prime ministers from major producers and consumers of deforestation-linked products will commit to protect forest ecosystems.”

    Truly astonishingly, the Guardian doesn’t tell us the key piece of information about this agreement, which even the BBC spells out in its headline:

    “COP26: World leaders promise to end deforestation by 2030”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59088498

    “More than 100 world leaders will promise to end and reverse deforestation by 2030, in the COP26 climate summit’s first major deal.

    Brazil – where stretches of the Amazon rainforest have been cut down – will be among the signatories on Tuesday.

    The pledge includes almost £14bn ($19.2bn) of public and private funds.

    Experts welcomed the move, but warned a previous deal in 2014 had “failed to slow deforestation at all” and commitments needed to be delivered on.”

    If it’s so serious, why wait until 2030 to stop clearing forests? They can cut down an awful lot of trees in 9 years. Strange that the pesky little detail slipped the Guardian journalist’s mind.

    Like

  93. Greta Thunberg sings ” You can shove your climate crisis up your arse”. Is this the first time we have agreed with St. Greta or is it just that English is not her first language. [Video unavailable from YouTube – see next comment.]

    Like

  95. “Boris Johnson will travel home from Cop26 by private plane
    PM to fly from Glasgow to London in plane run partly on sustainable fuel rather than taking 4.5-hour train”

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/nov/01/boris-johnson-will-travel-home-from-cop26-by-private-plane

    “Boris Johnson is flying back from the Cop26 climate conference on a private plane rather than the train after spending two days warning world leaders to reduce their emissions.

    The prime minister left himself open to accusations of hypocrisy after urging other countries to do everything possible to pledge lower emissions and warning that they would be judged by their children if they fail to act.

    Johnson flew into Cop26 in Glasgow from Rome after attending the G20 of world leaders. But instead of getting the train, which takes about four and a half hours, he has decided to take a short internal flight from Glasgow to London.

    Earlier, he told a roundtable of leaders of developing nations: “When it comes to tackling climate change, words without action, without deeds are absolutely pointless.”

    The prime minister is one of hundreds of world leaders and businesspeople who have chartered planes to attend the conference aimed at limiting global temperature rises to less than 1.5C. Jeff Bezos, the boss of Amazon, was one of those who flew in to Scotland for the conference.

    Johnson’s spokesperson defended the move, saying the plane ran partly on “sustainable aviation fuel” and emitted about half the emissions of other aircraft. The plane will still cause far more emissions than a trip by train.

    “It’s important the PM is able to move around the country. We have obviously faced significant time constraints,” Johnson’s official spokesperson said.

    The plane – an Airbus A321 – appears to have been leased from a company called Titan Airways, while the prime minister’s usual Voyager is being serviced. His spokesperson said: “The plane is one of the most carbon-efficient planes of its size in the world. It produces 50% less CO2 emissions than, for example, the larger Voyager plane.”

    Prince Charles also flew from Rome to Glasgow on a private plane separately from the prime minister. It also used sustainable aviation fuel – a mixture of conventional fuel and biofuel.”

    Like

  96. “We have obviously faced significant time constraints” official spokesman says.

    Isn’t that also what Boris said in his speech?

    Like

  97. Russia-Today-TV seems to be supporting COP26
    video of Putin saying his target is 2060
    and Russia has the trees, the traditional zero-carbon fuel.
    (Tree burning is not zero carbon unless all the burnt volume is matched by new growth volume
    … In Sweden that might happen, but not most countries)

    Like

  100. Do double-yellow lines now mean “parking permitted” in Glasgow? The Scottish Constabulary could have had a field day (or two weeks worth). But as Shellenberger points out (via Beth) “rules that apply to us, don’t apply to them”

    Liked by 1 person

  101. “Cop26: BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky sign up to Climate Content Pledge.”

    https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/19690438.cop26-bbc-itv-channel-4-sky-sign-climate-content-pledge/

    “The UK’s major broadcasting media brands have made a pledge to increase and improve their climate change storytelling.

    Twelve brands, including BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky, make up 70% of the UK audience’s time spent watching TV.

    Britbox, Discovery and RTE are also among the companies to sign up to the Climate Content Pledge.

    The move coincides with the Cop 26 event in Glasgow which has seen world leaders come together to help tackle the current climate crisis.

    They will also look at the role of broadcasters and streaming services in tackling the issues, and explore the measures needed to cut emissions to net zero.

    BBC director-general Tim Davie said: “This pledge is a firm commitment from our industry to go further and faster to engage and inform audiences on the climate challenges we all face.”

    Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon said: “This is a pivotal time for broadcasters and for our audiences as we join together to tackle the climate crisis that affects us and future generations.

    “Signing this pledge is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for broadcasters and programme makers to work together and use the power of content on every platform.”

    Dame Carolyn McCall, chief executive of ITV, added: “From plant-based recipes on daytime to putting electric vehicles on Emmerdale, ITV is committed to using our reach and world-class talent to make the transition to a sustainable future relevant and accessible for our audiences.

    “This pledge is a demonstration of how an industry can work together to create real change.”

    Stephen van Rooyen, Sky’s executive vice president and chief executive of UK and Europe, said: “Sustainability has always been at the heart of our business, from being the first carbon neutral media company to launching the world’s first carbon neutral TV in Sky Glass.

    “Now, using our content and reach in millions of homes, we have the opportunity to inspire our customers to make changes that will help us all get to net zero.

    “This pledge is an example of the strength of the broadcast industry to come together and drive significant action.””

    Well, that’s one way of putting it. I’d call it brainwashing. I don’t like using these sorts of analogies, but on this occasion I don’t feel unreasonable in saying it – I’m not sure Goebbels ever reached this level of control and brainwashing of people.

    Like

  102. From the “You couldn’t make it up” school:

    “COP26: Olympian Hannah Mills wants athletes to tackle climate change”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59136715

    “I’m at COP26, doing all I can to add my voice, and those of fellow Olympic athletes, to calls for immediate and radical action on climate change.

    Winning Olympic gold medals has given me a platform to talk about the issues that I care about.

    I would not have enjoyed that without my sporting success.

    I can imagine some readers rolling their eyes and asking what right I have to lecture them about the environment just because I can sail a boat?”

    Actually, I am rolling my eyes, but not because your ability to sail a boat gives you no right to lecture me. Rather it’s because your boat-sailing at Olympic (and no doubt) other events means that at a bit more half my age you already have a considerably larger carbon footprint than me. You have no right to lecture for me that reason.

    “The charge of hypocrisy is never far away.

    I am the first to admit that my sport, sailing, has a large carbon footprint.

    To race, we fly ourselves and our equipment round the world in planes that guzzle fossil fuels and spew carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

    Sometimes, on our travels, it is impossible to avoid buying food wrapped in single use plastic, even though I campaign passionately about plastic pollution.

    I am not perfect. In that sense, I am a hypocrite. That’s the point. We all are.”

    Admitting it’s the first step is it? Anyway, speak for yourself, and don’t tar me with your brush.

    “On a recent trip back home to Wales, I visited Uplands Rugby Club in Swansea which has decided to cut out single-use plastic.”

    Fabulous. But if you really cared about a supposed climate crisis, you’d be calling for the cancellation of all international sporting events going forward. But you’re not, are you?

    Liked by 1 person

  104. “China and Russia made ‘big mistake’, Biden says at the COP26 conference”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-59142646

    “While speaking at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Biden called out China and Russia for missing the climate summit.”

    Says the man who was there for only 48 hours or so and whose visit emitted more greenhouse gas emissions than I will do all year, or possibly all decade.

    Liked by 1 person

  105. Oh dear, it seems that the folks at COP26 keep insisting on having the sort of food that they don’t want normal humans to eat:
    https://www.bigissue.com/news/environment/caop26-haggis-the-most-unsustainable-dish-at-glasgow-climate-conference/

    “You might expect the world’s biggest climate change conference to opt for eco-friendly menus, given the clamour to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet the menu at COP26 in Glasgow is almost 60 per cent meat or dairy with dishes labelled as high-carbon at almost every food stand, a move which ‘beggars belief” according to climate and conservation campaigners.

    Delegates are presented with a broad menu at the conference, from soups, sandwiches and salads to pizza, pasta and pastries. The carbon footprint for every item is listed on the menu, available online at a website called ARecipeForChange.co.uk, with burgers, venison, beef ramen, and haggis all featuring, despite their high carbon footprint.”

    Well, they could always steadfastly refuse the sinful stuff and go for a salad (no dressing) every time. Simples.

    Does venison even have a high carbon footprint, by the way? Wouldn’t have thought so.

    Like

  106. I cannot complain about the climate-unworthiness of COP dietary consumables. This morning I put luscious big blueberries on my cereal and noted they came from Peru. Last week they came from South Africa and from Mozambique. Tossing up whether I am virtuous in supporting Third World agriculture or damned for the food-kilometres.

    Liked by 1 person

  107. Alan, I think it’s a case of “damned, whatever we do”. In a similar way, plastic is beyond the pale because it clogs the oceans, kills turtles, etc., not celebrated because it reduces food waste. There’s never an upside!

    Like

  108. Alex,

    But plastic is a ‘magic’ material which instantly become toxic when it’s taken off food and put in the waste bin.

    Like

  109. “Role of indigenous peoples and their communities and nature-based solutions | #COP26”

    44 minutes in. 204 people watching the live stream, including one sceptic.

    Like

  111. Sacrifices to the climate Gods?

    “Ireland would need to cull up to 1.3 million cattle to reach climate targets
    With more than a third of the country’s greenhouse gases coming from farming, Dublin faces huge pressure over reduction aims”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/03/ireland-would-need-to-cull-up-to-13-million-cattle-to-reach-climate-targets

    “Up to 1.3 million cattle would have to be culled in Ireland to reach anticipated government targets for reducing greenhouse gases in the agriculture sector, a new report has concluded.

    Irish farmers are expecting the worst after taoiseach Micheál Martin described the report by KPMG, commissioned by weekly newspaper the Irish Farmers Journal, as “scaremongering”.

    The debate over agriculture’s role in reducing carbon emissions is a hugely controversial topic in Ireland, pitting Dublin against rural communities.

    The country, which does not have a significant manufacturing sector, has long relied on farming, alongside multinational investment, to drive its economy. Irish beef and dairy brands such as Kerrygold and Pilgrims Choice are among its most successful exports.

    But Irish agriculture is under huge pressure: 35% of national greenhouse gases come from the sector, the highest level in Europe, where the average is 11%. And more than 60% of that comes from methane associated with belching by ruminant animals.”

    Like

  112. “Cop26 has to be about keeping fossil fuels in the ground. All else is distraction
    George Monbiot
    The handwaving and complexity obscure a simple truth: nation states must stop funding dirty industries”

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/03/cop26-fossil-fuels

    “And yes, it really is this simple. We have the technology required to replace fossil fuels. There’s plenty of money, which is currently being squandered on the destruction of life on Earth. The transition could take place in months, if governments willed it. The only thing that stands in the way is the power of legacy industries and the people who profit from them. This is what needs to be overthrown. The handwaving, the complexity, the grandiloquent distraction in Glasgow are designed above all for one purpose: not to accelerate this transition, but to thwart it.”

    Really? How, then, do you explain this article in the same edition of the Guardian?

    “Renewable energy firms warn of difficult conditions amid slow winds
    Lower-than-normal wind speeds and supply chain problems pile pressure on Ørsted and Vestas”

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/nov/03/renewable-energy-firms-warn-difficult-conditions-slow-winds

    “Two of the world’s biggest wind energy companies have warned of difficult conditions as slower-than-usual winds and supply chain difficulties delay manufacturing.

    Ørsted, a Danish company, said lower-than-normal wind speeds throughout the third quarter had affected its earnings. Across the first nine months of 2021 slow winds cost the company 2.5bn Danish kroner (£290m) compared with the previous year. Ørsted makes about two-thirds of its revenues from offshore wind including off the UK’s coasts.

    Vestas, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, on Wednesday cut its profit guidance for the second time this year, citing supply chain instability and cost inflation that was hitting the wind power industry.

    It came as political and business leaders gathered in Glasgow for the Cop 26 UN climate summit, with green energy high up the agenda. Increasing the supply of renewable energy is a key part of ambitions to limit global heating.

    However, the slower winds have contributed to the global increase in the prices of gas and other fossil fuel sources of energy before winter in Europe.

    In the UK, wind energy has provided 60% of energy needs at peak times but becalmed conditions have forced the country to resort to burning gas and coal to keep the lights on.”

    You’ve got to hand it to the Guardian – they’re not afraid of publishing articles that undermine all their other articles. I can’t help wondering if they even notice?

    Like

  113. “Climate change: Carbon emissions show rapid rebound after Covid dip”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59148520

    “Global carbon dioxide emissions are set to rebound to near the levels they were at before Covid, in a finding that has surprised scientists.

    The amount of planet-heating gas released in 2020 fell by 5.4% as the pandemic forced countries to lock down.

    But a scientific report by the Global Carbon Project predicts CO2 emissions will rise by 4.9% this year….

    …Yet emissions from coal and gas are predicted to grow more in 2021 than they fell the previous year – though carbon released from oil use is expected to remain below 2019 levels.

    Dr Glen Peters, from the Center for International Climate Research (Cicero) in Oslo, Norway, said: “What many of us were thinking in 2020 – including me – was more of a recovery spread out over a few years, as opposed to a big hitch in 2021.

    “That’s where the surprise comes for me – that it happened so quick, and also there’s a concern that there’s still some recovery to come.”

    This rapid rebound in emissions is at odds with the ambitious CO2 cuts required in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C. This is the increase viewed by scientists as the gateway to dangerous levels of global warming.

    The 16th annual Global Carbon Budget report was compiled by more than 94 authors who analysed economic data and information on emissions from land activities, such as forestry.

    It shows that, if we continue along as we are and don’t cut emissions, there’s a 50% likelihood of reaching the 1.5C of warming in about 11 years. This concurs with the findings in a recent UN report that suggested we would get there by the early 2030s.

    Prof Corinne Le Quéré, from the University of East Anglia, said: “To limit climate change to 1.5C, emissions of CO2 need to reach net zero by 2050. Doing this in a straight line would mean cutting global emissions down by 1.4 billion tonnes of CO2 each year.”

    The fall in 2020 was 1.9 billion tonnes, but that was in the lockdown.

    So reducing emissions by an amount roughly equivalent to that in the post-lockdown period presents a daunting challenge. But the scientists stress that it remains achievable.”

    No it doesn’t – not without completely destroying our way of life. I had enough of lockdown during the height of the covid pandemic. I don’t want to live my life like that permanently.

    Like

  114. No sign of climate change among the “most viewed” articles in the Guardian this morning. Readers are more interested in avocados and masturbnation, apparently.

    Like

  115. Tim Davie at COP yesterday said that climate change is no longer a politically controversial issue.

    ‘The overwhelming consensus is that we, as humanity, are causing global warming. There are voices on the fringes but, in my view, when it comes to due impartiality for the BBC, we are now at a point where we have consensus around that.

    This idiot thinks that because a CO2 molecule is known to interact with an infra-red photon, ALL THE BS FLOWING OUT OF THE ALARMISTS IS TRUE. That humans are causing global warming does not mean we need Net Zero to prevent the end of humanity.

    Later in the article:

    Senior figures from the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Sky and STV urged their competitors to create more content reflecting the realities of climate change during a panel coinciding with Cop26.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10161939/BBC-boss-Tim-Davie-says-climate-change-no-longer-politically-controversial-issue.html

    Also at the Telegraph. But not seemingly elsewhere, where the controversy around Davie wearing trainers instead of patent leathers seemed to be of more importance.

    Liked by 1 person

  116. JIT, very good point indeed, and it’s at the heart of the controversy (or what should be the controversy) regarding the BBC’s partisan approach to this issue.

    EVEN IF the science is settled (which is itself debatable, whatever the BBC would have us all believe) the most sensible political response to it is not settled, nor should it be; nor should scientists be allowed to impose their political preferences on the rest of us just because they’re scientists. Informing us as to what science might or might not imply does not give them the right to foist their political views on us and to throw democracy out of the window.

    It’s not a difficult point to grasp, but it seems it’s beyond the BBC apparatchiks.

    Liked by 1 person

  117. Mark, interesting that you should use the word “apparatchiks”. I was reading Solzhenitsyn’s “Live Not by Lies” the other day (to reference it in a speech by a character). It includes this description of the resisting oppressed, that they:

    “Will not subscribe to, nor buy in retail, a newspaper or journal that distorts or hides the underlying facts.”

    That was in 1974, and the piece was published the day before he was exiled from the USSR.

    https://www.solzhenitsyncenter.org/live-not-by-lies

    Now, referencing Solzhenitsyn as an armchair warrior is faintly ludicrous – he was sent to a political prison before WW2 was over, despite being decorated. But his letter was aimed at the grey masses of nobodies, a group I am certainly part of. Breaking with the BBC would be difficult because I would always have to read news stories with half a mind on who the owners of the company were and what their preferred editorial angle was.

    I want to trust the BBC. Can I?

    Like

  120. What will COP delegates think tomorrow night when Brits deliberately and wilfully set fire to representations of criminals dressed in rags, so emitting loads of unnecessary carbon dioxide. I gather that congregations gathered to watch the spreading of coloured chemicals into the atmosphere at the same time have largely been banned for this year. Thank goodness for that.

    Liked by 1 person

  123. Jit, as for trusting the BBC, it depends – trust them to do what?

    To try to be fair, I think they can be trusted to do what they honestly think is right and for the best.

    But, you can’t trust them to be objective, unbiased, to report the news without spin, or to allow alternative opinions on any issue where they have decided that they know best.

    It’s a bit unfortunate for the BBC (not that they’ll notice the difference) that my TV licence renewal has fallen due in the same month as their totally OTT coverage of COP 26, which has been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Finally, Mrs H and I will not be renewing our TV licence when it expires in 26 days’ time.

    Like

  124. Today in Beirut:

    https://show.pics.io/xr-global-media-breaking-news-content-600ed2733c68d80019a19bc7/preview/61845c3f35a4140012b21af6

    Rupert Read says sorry as his wallet is stolen:

    https://show.pics.io/xr-global-media-breaking-news-content-600ed2733c68d80019a19bc7/preview/61845c3035a4140012b21aeb

    Has George Barda got his anorak on back to front?

    https://show.pics.io/xr-global-media-breaking-news-content-600ed2733c68d80019a19bc7/preview/6182b497b770a200125e170e

    Like

  125. “COP26: New Duke of Edinburgh-style climate award to be launched”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59172936

    “Pupils will be recognised for their efforts to protect the environment in a new Duke of Edinburgh-style award.

    It is one of a series of measures aimed at putting climate change at the heart of education.

    The plans will be set out by Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

    Staff will also be supported to teach children about nature and their impact on the world through a “model science curriculum”, to be in place by 2023.

    Climate change is already taught in science and geography lessons in England as part of the curriculum.

    The Climate Leaders award will help children to develop their skills and knowledge in biodiversity and sustainability, with their work recognised at an annual national awards ceremony.

    Pupils will be able to progress through different levels of the award – bronze, silver and gold – in a similar way to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, which includes volunteering and extracurricular activities.

    The education secretary will also confirm plans to pilot “energy pods” that can replace gas and coal boilers and supply a school’s heating and hot water without carbon emissions.”

    It seems the brainwashing is almost complete.

    Like

  126. “COP26: Emissions of rich put climate goals at risk – study”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-59157836

    “The total carbon footprint of the richest 1% will grow while that of the poorest 50% stays small, a study says.

    Emissions of the wealthiest are on track to be 30 times higher than what’s needed to stop the planet from warming above 1.5C, according to the study.

    The poorest 50%, however, will be most severely impacted by climate change.

    The research, carried out by two European environmental agencies, comes as world leaders meet at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

    “A tiny elite appear to have a free pass to pollute,” says Naftoke Dabi at Oxfam, which commissioned the study from the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Institute for European Environmental Policy.

    “Their over-sized emissions are fuelling extreme weather around the world and jeopardising the international goal of limiting global heating.”…”.

    I’d say many of them have jetted in to Glasgow recently.

    Like

  130. It’s official, then, St Greta has spoken:

    “COP26: Greta Thunberg tells protest that COP26 has been a ‘failure'”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-59165781

    “Greta Thunberg has told a mass rally in Glasgow that the COP26 climate summit has been a “failure”.

    The Swedish activist had earlier joined thousands of young people – including striking school pupils – for a march through the city.

    She addressed the crowd when it arrived in George Square, saying “immediate and drastic” cuts to emissions are needed….

    …Ms Thunberg said: “It is not a secret that COP26 is a failure. It should be obvious that we cannot solve a crisis with the same methods that got us into it in the first place.”

    She said: “We need immediate drastic annual emission cuts unlike anything the world has ever seen.

    “The people in power can continue to live in their bubble filled with their fantasies, like eternal growth on a finite planet and technological solutions that will suddenly appear seemingly out of nowhere and will erase all of these crises just like that.

    “All this while the world is literally burning, on fire, and while the people living on the front lines are still bearing the brunt of the climate crisis.”

    She described the UN climate change summit as a “two-week long celebration of business as usual and blah, blah, blah” to “maintain business as usual” and “create loopholes to benefit themselves”.

    Ms Thunberg added: “We know that our emperors are naked.”…”.

    Like

  131. Meanwhile, at the Guardian, carrying on looking at what concerns Guardian readers, the 10 most viewed articles there today are on anything but climate change or COP 26, neither of which topics make the top 10. In first place is “I am 16 and identify as an ‘ace lesbian’ – how do I tell my parents?”. Lots about Owen Paterson and Boris, and in 10th place: “Sally Rooney novels pulled from Israeli bookstores after translation boycott”.

    Like

  132. “The exposed roots of corn foretell hurricanes and storms coming in the approaching winter.”

    We’re up to nearly 50 watching the livestream now.

    Like

  133. from another thread, but worth reposting here I think as we now have a new link (to me anyway) “https://scientistrebellion.com/”

    partial blurb extract –
    “Still, mega-corporations ransack the natural world with support from their servants in public office. Governments who stray from protecting corporate interest in favour of human need are attacked and delegitimised in the billionaire press, face the prospect of international capital flight, and of political or military coups. This corruption of democracy sits at the heart of climate inaction…
    read on to find out “Why We Rebel”

    Like

  134. ahha – they want scientists to be “leaking documents” for the cause !!!!

    – call to action
    Extinction Rebellion calls on everyone to take their responsibilities and get in the way of the destruction of our climate and life-support systems in any manner they peacefully can. For all of us, this means taking risks and getting out of our comfort zone. Ask yourself what you can do in your position. For scientists, it can mean shedding light on the inner workings of the science/policy interface by leaking documents.

    Scientist Rebellion is prepared to support any scientists who see the need to leak a climate- or ecocide-related document for the above mentioned reasons. We will keep you anonymous and will handle the press work for you. Write to ScientistRebellion@protonmail.com

    “and will handle the press work for you” – nice set up they have in place, and full time “scientists” to boot.

    Liked by 1 person

  135. That would be leaking, of course, meaning they are virtuous whistle-blowers. Not a criminal hacker in sight.

    Like

  136. “Counter climate summit kicks off as activists lament Cop26 inaction
    Coalition aims to give voice to ideas and solutions it believes are largely absent from the Cop talks”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/07/counter-climate-summit-kicks-off-as-activists-lament-cop26-inaction

    “A counter climate summit kicks off in Glasgow on Sunday amid mounting criticism from activists about greenwashed solutions and stalled action from corporations and rich nations inside Cop26.

    The People’s Summit for Climate Justice will bring together movements and communities from across the world to amplify voices, ideas and solutions it believes are largely absent from Cop – including the global green new deal, polluters’ liability, indigenous ecological knowledge and the gulf between net zero and real zero emissions.

    Organisers hope that sharing expertise on equitable and transformative non-market solutions to the climate emergency will help create a powerful grassroots collective to force governments to be more ambitious and less beholden to big business.

    The summit comes after world leaders last week failed to commit to phasing out fossil fuels fast enough to contain global heating to 1.5C. It follows several days of protests in Glasgow, London and another 200 cities globally, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets to demand bold, fast and fair climate action.

    “Building power outside the Cop is essential if we are to hold world leaders to account inside the Cop, and force them to do what we know needs to be done,” said Asad Rehman, the director of War on Want and co-founder of the Cop26 Coalition which organised Saturday’s global protests and the summit.

    “We’re creating a movement of movements in order to deepen and reshape the understanding of the climate crisis in the global north through a climate justice lens.”

    The four-day summit includes participants from indigenous and frontline communities, trade unions, racial justice and migrant rights groups, youth strikers, landworkers, NGOs, feminist movements and faith groups, as well as progressive lawmakers such as Caroline Lucas, Mercy Barends and Rashida Tlaib, who support the green new deal.”

    You can find out more here:

    https://cop26coalition.org/peoples-summit/

    Like

  137. Mark, from last week’s Guardian souvenir program, which I am keeping forever, or at least until this thing wraps up:
    Sunday 7 November
    A rest day for delegates ahead of the second week of negotiations.
    The People’s Summit, a parallel movement bringing together climate justice campaigners, begins. The events are spread across four days and include subjects such as defending the right to protest, queer ecology as climate justice, self-care and collective-care, and voices of the most affected.

    Like

  139. Richard, it’s a direct quote from last Saturday’s Guardian COP26 guide.

    Tomorrow’s schedule, from the same guide:

    The negotiations are set to focus on the practical solutions needed to adapt to climate breakdown.

    I’ve put it in blockquote to make things clear!

    Like

  140. it’s a direct quote from last Saturday’s Guardian COP26 guide

    So “queer ecology as climate justice” is on the same level as “defending the right to protest”.

    I would say the latter is very easy to understand as an idea and key to all our freedoms.

    The former is simply a random sequence of woke-sounding words.

    Which means the authors have no respect for any of what they say.

    Like

  141. “China calls for concrete action not distant targets in last week of Cop26
    Senior Beijing adviser also defends scale, depth and detail of country’s ‘unappreciated’ climate actions”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/08/china-calls-for-concrete-action-not-distant-targets-in-last-week-of-cop26

    “Chinese officials are sceptical of claims that Cop26 commitments will keep global heating below 2C, and want other countries to focus on concrete actions rather than distant targets in the final week of the talks.

    They feel that China, the world’s biggest emitter, is doing more than it is given credit for, including plans to peak coal consumption by 2025 and add more new wind and solar power capacity by 2030 than the entire installed electricity system of the US.

    “There has been a lot of criticism of China’s attitude in the media, but many of them are based on incomprehension or misunderstanding,” said Wang Yi, a senior adviser to the Chinese delegation.

    During the first week of the UN climate talks in Glasgow, China has been portrayed at times as a reluctant laggard in the effort to keep global heating to 1.5C. The US president, Joe Biden, said it was a “big mistake” for his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, not to show up. China’s climate plan disappointed many because it contained no fresh ambition, and the country was notably absent from alliances to reduce methane emissions and phase out coal.

    But Wang, a key consultant on China’s decarbonisation strategy and five-year plan, said his country had delivered a policy framework and detailed roadmap to cut emissions, while other nations were congratulating themselves on vague long-term promises….

    …The final week of Cop26 will tackle the most contentious issues on the climate agenda. For China, the priority is to finalise the Paris rulebook, which will determine how money should flow across borders in support of decarbonisation, forest protection and other climate actions.

    As at previous Cops, China will also push wealthy nations to make greater financial contributions to developing countries, which have done least to cause the climate crisis but suffer most from its consequences.

    Wang pointed out that the 2009 promise of $100bn (£73bn) a year in climate finance had yet to be realised and far more than this would be needed in the future to accelerate the pace of decarbonisation.

    “China would like more effort on supporting developing countries,” he said. “If we are going to aim for 1.5C instead of 2C, then there has to be an increase in the funds available to make that happen.”…”

    You’ve got to hand it to them – they know how to play the game.

    Like

  142. Tuesday 9th November’s schedule, from the Guardian’s souvenir pull-out:

    The talks will focus on gender equality and the participation of women and girls in climate action, as well as on science and innovation.

    I don’t know what “climate action” in this sense means. In any case, surely equality and wealth grow together, such that keeping the third world poor by denying it the cheap power that we in the West have, or used to have, is directly detrimental to equality.

    Liked by 2 people

  144. “COP26: Brighton council’s Green leader apologises for flight”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-59226475

    “A Green Party council leader has apologised after facing criticism for flying to the COP26 climate summit.

    Brighton & Hove City Council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty said he chose to fly to Glasgow because of “the unreliability of the rail network”.

    But he has faced calls to quit and been called a “hypocrite” for not using more environmentally-friendly rail travel.

    He said that decision “was a major failure of my judgement” and goes against his party’s principles.

    Councillor Dawn Barnett, Conservative member for Hangleton & Knoll, said: “I think it’s disgusting, he’s a hypocrite, and he should step down as leader.

    “He tells us we can’t use our cars, that we must use buses and trains, and he has bus lanes put in overnight, and then he does exactly as he wants.”…”.

    Like

  145. “Llanbedr bypass: Axed Gwynedd road plan to cost £1.7m”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59223830

    “A scrapped bypass road project cost taxpayers nearly £1.7m, new figures have revealed.

    Last week, the Welsh government axed plans for the £14m bypass in Llanbedr, Gwynedd.

    Having already been granted planning permission last year, after 60 years of lobbying, the withdrawal sparked accusations of “betrayal”.

    The Welsh government pulled the plug following advice from a committee of transport and climate experts.

    Calls for the one-mile (1.5km) Llanbedr access road date back decades and it was hoped the road would cut traffic through the Snowdonia village by 90%, while improving access to the nearby aerospace centre, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

    The decision is part of an ongoing review of Welsh government road projects and came after a panel concluded the road was likely to increase carbon emissions.”

    Ah, bless those climate experts. I imagine the people of Llanbedr are delighted….

    Like

  146. I like Varoufakis, bit I think he’s gone a bit Monbiot in this piece which, to me is a curate’s egg – good in parts:

    “Cop26 is doomed, and the hollow promise of ‘net zero’ is to blame
    Yanis Varoufakis”

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/10/cop26-doomed-net-zero

    “The failure of Cop26 reflects our failed democracies on both sides of the Atlantic. President Biden arrived in Glasgow as his people back in Washington were pushing his infrastructure bill through Congress – an exercise that decoupled the bill from any serious investment in renewables and funded an array of carbon-emitting infrastructure such as expanded roads and airports. Meanwhile in the European Union, the rhetoric may be painted in bright green, but the reality is dark brown – with even Germany looking forward to copious amounts of Russian natural gas in exchange of green-lighting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The EU should be creating a pan-European Renewable Energy Union, but alas our leaders are not even debating this idea.

    There are three reasons Cop26 is proving such a spectacular debacle. The first reason is a planet-wide collective action problem over “free-riding”. Large businesses, as well as states, take a leaf out of St Augustine’s prayer, “Lord please make me chaste but not just yet”. Everyone prefers a planet on which no one emits carbon to a planet that sizzles. But everyone also prefers to delay paying the cost of transition if they can get away with it. If the rest of the planet does the right thing, the planet is saved, even if you selfishly postpone your own conversion to environmental probity. And if the rest of the planet does not do the right thing, why be the one sucker who does?

    The second reason is a global coordination failure. In one sense, Carney is correct: mountain ranges of cash are lying idly in the global financial system, its ultra-wealthy owners keen to invest it in low-carbon activities. But a private investment in, say, green hydrogen will only return profits if many other investors invest in it too – and so the investors all sit around waiting for each other to be the first. Meanwhile, corporations, communities and states join this waiting game, unwilling to take the risk of committing to green hydrogen until big finance does. Tragically, there is no global coordinator to match the available money, technologies and needs.

    The third reason is simply: capitalism. It has always gained pace through the incessant commodification of everything, beginning with land, labour and technology before spreading to genetically modified organisms, and even a woman’s womb or an asteroid. As capitalism’s realm spread, price-less goods turned into pricey commodities. The owners of the machinery and the land necessary for the commodification of goods profited, while everyone else progressed from the wretchedness of the 19th century working class to the soothing fantasies of mindless petit-bourgeois consumerism….

    …This is why polluters adore net zero targets: because they are a brilliant cover for not restricting emissions. In exchange for non-verifiable offsets, they are allowed to continue plundering the planet’s remaining stored carbon, until the point arrives when their marginal private cost surpasses their revenue from the last unit sold. By cynically placing net zero at its centre, Cop26 became nothing more than an expensive cover-up for continued toxic emissions. Hiding behind Cop26, the great and the good lie to the young, lie to vulnerable people and even lie to themselves by repeating the truth that the “money is there” to be invested in the planet’s salvation.”

    So far, so good. But then he says:

    “What needs to be done? Two things at the very least. First, a complete shutdown of coalmines and new oil and gas rigs. If governments can lock us down to save lives during a pandemic, they can shut down the fossil fuel industry to save humanity. Second, we need a global carbon tax, to increase the relative price of everything that releases more carbon, and from which all proceeds should be returned to the poorer members of our species.

    To earn a shot at rising to the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced, we must first confront both the funders and the owners of the fossil fuel industries. Though this clash will not guarantee our future, it is a necessary condition for us to have one.”

    To me that sounds like a pretty grim future – the cure being worse than the disease.

    Liked by 1 person

  147. “COP 26: Four major carmakers fail to back zero emissions pledge”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59236613

    “Four of the world’s biggest carmakers have failed to sign a COP 26 summit pledge to only sell zero emissions cars and vans by 2035.

    Volkswagen, Toyota, Renault-Nissan and Hyundai-Kia were not among signatories to the climate summit declaration.

    China and US, which are the world’s biggest car markets, were also absent from the list of signatories.”

    That went well, then.

    Liked by 2 people

  148. “COP26: How can an average family afford an electric car? And more questions”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58925049

    “How is the average family going to find the extra £20,000 needed to buy an electric vehicle? Nicola Hippisley, London

    Overall, electric cars have been more expensive than petrol or diesel ones for some time, but the difference has been narrowing.

    The average cost of an electric car in the UK is about £44,000, but you can buy a basic small one for under £20,000. That’s partly because the price of the batteries which electric cars use has fallen sharply in recent years.

    At the moment, the price of raw materials is threatening to push battery prices up again, but the industry expects that as electric car sales increase, economies of scale will kick in.

    Experts predict that electric and petrol/diesel cars will cost the same within the next five years.

    Sales of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans will be banned in the UK from 2030, as part of the government’s plans to reach “net-zero” by 2050. From 2035, people will only be able to buy fully zero-emission vehicles.

    The UK government currently offers a grant of up to £2,500 as a discount on the price of certain brand new low-emission vehicles including some electric models.”

    The article studiously avoids answering the question. It implicitly acknowledges that electric cars are much more expensive than diesel and petrol ones, and avoids the difficult part, namely how are average families to afford them? The best they can come up with is to claim that “Experts predict that electric and petrol/diesel cars will cost the same within the next five years.”. There are two problems with this. Firstly, expert predictions are often wrong, and there is certainly no guarantee that these will be borne out. Secondly, equating the price of electric cars with diesel and petrol cars in 5 years’ time doesn’t mean that electric cars will be affordable so far as the average family is concerned – it might be that taxes and penalties have been loaded on petrol and diesel cars to make them more expensive and thus to make electric cars “more competitive”. If so, it just means that the mad policies our government is following will make car ownership much harder for many people.

    Ironically perhaps, this is a “Reality Check” article from the BBC.

    Liked by 1 person

  149. “‘What if we just gave up cars?’: Cop26 leaders urged to dream big”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/10/what-if-we-just-gave-up-cars-activists-press-cop26-leaders-to-dream-big

    That’s a dream? Turning our backs on a century of progress, on a means of transport that has liberated hundreds of millions, possibly billions, of ordinary people. Going back to making people’s lives smaller and (in winter weather in countries like ours) far less pleasant and likely cold and flu-ridden.

    Still, it does manage to include some inconvenient truths:

    “…Henderson said many Glaswegians were resentful of the smart card public transport passes given to Cop26 delegates, which enable unlimited use of trains and buses during the conference. “No one else around here has ever got one of those smart cards,” she said. “It marginalizes people when you don’t have good public transport.”

    Environmental critics of electric cars argue that they still clog up cities and are dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians. While they are vastly less polluting than traditional cars, lithium is mined in often controversial circumstances for the batteries used by electric vehicles, and dust from car brakes and tyres still give off a certain amount of air pollution….

    …Electric vehicle numbers are still dwarfed by those of gasoline and diesel cars around the world…”.

    Liked by 1 person

  150. never realised “Sales of new … hybrid cars and vans will be banned in the UK from 2030”

    self charging hybrid is only car I would trust to drive (even then I would wait for feedback from owners) – what madness we are witnessing !!!

    ps – just reading a book on Angels (peter Stanford) thru the ages & can’t help but wonder if Cherub/Angel like faces are now back in fashion ?

    Like

  152. “COP26: Bristol group takes environmental diversity message to summit”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-59237749

    “A community project which aims to increase diversity in environmental decision-making has taken its message to the COP26 climate change summit.

    Olivia Sweeney and Roy Kareem, of Bristol-based Black and Green Ambassadors, spoke about making the environmental movement more inclusive.

    They said it felt like recognition of the group’s work to speak at the event.

    “I think they recognised that we are doing something special and unusual,” said Mr Kareem.

    Black and Green Ambassadors was launched after Bristol won the European Green Capital award in 2015, and aims to ensure the talk around climate and the environment is accessible and representative of all communities.

    After a few fallow years when funding was unavailable, the group was relaunched last year and is now looking to expand and become self-sustainable.”

    Like

  153. How concerned are the Iranian leaders about climate change?

    “Climate change: Iran says lift sanctions and we’ll ratify Paris agreement”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59242986

    “Iran will ratify the landmark Paris agreement on climate change only if sanctions against it are lifted, a senior leader has told the BBC.

    Ali Salajegheh said sanctions were impeding Iran in areas like renewable energy.

    Iran is the world’s eighth largest CO2 emitter, yet is one of the few countries not to ratify the Paris pact.

    Emissions have soared in recent years as overseas investments in renewable energy have collapsed.

    The government has also violently suppressed protests about water shortages.

    While the country’s president Ebrahim Raisi has chosen not to come to the UN climate change summit in Glasgow, the Iranian team is here to plead for relief from the economic blockade.

    “Iran has been impacted by climate change like every other place in the world,” said Mr Salajegheh.

    “This has reduced our rainfall per annum and also the inflow of water into our rivers has reduced by 40% this has affected our agriculture and affected our industrial and drinking water.”

    However, Iran has been criticised for damaging its own water supply by drilling over a million wells and building around 700 dams.

    On the issue of the Paris climate agreement, Mr Salajegheh said the pact had to be a “two-way street.”

    “When you have oppressive sanctions in force it does not allow for any kind of imports even medicine which is a human fundamental right,” he said.”

    My word, leaders all over the world know how to manipulate the system, don’t they?

    Like

  154. “Five arrested after gluing themselves outside energy company in Glasgow”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment

    at 17.16 today.

    “While intense negotiations continue inside the summit conference venue, five more climate protesters have been arrested in Glasgow.

    The activists from environmental group Scientist Rebellion glued themselves to the ground in front of the offices of energy company Scottish Power.

    The group staged the action against what they say is “greenwashing” by the company, which is a subsidiary of Spanish utility firm Iberdrola.

    The protesters, most of whom were Spanish, claim Iberdrola has continued to burn fossil fuels around the world and blocked action on climate change.

    Scottish Power is one of the principle partners for COP26. The company says they are “working on a better, greener future to help fight climate change”, with tariffs including “100% green electricity from our windfarms” and “zero CO2 emissions on your electricity”.

    Meanwhile, a separate group of climate activists deflated the tyres of around 60 sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in one of Glasgow’s most affluent neighbourhoods in the early hours of Thursday morning.

    The group placed satirical police fines on the cars’ windscreens in the city’s West End explaining their action against the 4×4 cars, but no tyres were damaged in the action.”

    I don’t agree with their methods, but the protestors’ point about “greenwashing” by a COP 26 principle partner does seem to have some merit.

    Like

  155. More irony:

    “Glasgow carbon footprint ‘double that of Madrid 2019′”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment

    at 11.51 today.

    “COP26 is on track to be the most polluting climate summit of its kind, according to a report produced by the UK government’s sustainability consultant.

    It says carbon emissions are expected to reach more than double the amount pumped into the atmosphere during the last COP, in Madrid in 2019.

    The report, first reported by the Scotsman newspaper, states the current COP is on course to emit around 102,500 tonnes of CO2e (the total for COP25 stood at 51,101), with around 60% of the emissions arising solely from international flights.

    On the first day of the summit alone, around 50 private jets landed at Glasgow and Edinburgh airports, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson was heavily criticised for taking a private plane back to London after his first visit to the summit.

    The summary of COP26’s carbon management plan notes the total includes business travel during pre-event planning, energy, waste and water use in the accommodation for all “blue zone” attendees, and operational emissions from emergency service vehicles.

    The UN says COP26 is one of the largest ever with 40,000 registered participants (27,000 attended COP25), that it is a “carbon neutral” event and that any “unavoidable” emissions from the conference will be offset through the purchase of recognised offsets such as Certified Emission Reductions.”

    Like

  156. Mark,
    “The group staged the action against what they say is “greenwashing” by the company, which is a subsidiary of Spanish utility firm Iberdrola.

    The protesters, most of whom were Spanish, claim Iberdrola has continued to burn fossil fuels around the world and blocked action on climate change.”

    Maybe we should have some special holding prisons for climate activists that would only have power when renewable energy supply was more than, say, 20%.

    Liked by 1 person

  157. If COP26 was really about saving CO2
    Then the media would have just sent 10 pool reporters
    instead of the massive feeding frenzy of reporters they actually have

    Like

  159. ITV local news. Last night they pushed COP heavily
    Tonight’s Climate sermon was different ‘fighting climate change is vital and Lincoln University are leading the way with agricultural robots”
    Hmm the link here is tenuious. Agricultural robots are not about climate change, they might reduce bit of crop wastage, but the product shown was strawberries and that is a luxury crop rather than vital food source.
    Though of course if scientists want a research grant these days, they have to add Climate Change to the title.
    That was the only climate item tonight

    They did put out their daily COP26 tweet 15 hours ago
    It is a zero impact tweet , with zero Likes
    That is typical of their twice daily COP26 tweets
    … https://twitter.com/search?q=from%3Aitvcalendar%20%20%23cop26&src=typed_query&f=live

    Like

  160. BBC local news
    They have 2 types of item
    : A news report, these are simple
    : A PR Feature these are carefully crafted with background music, video effects, archive footage.

    Tonight’s PR features were
    #1 John Prescott at COP26, He had a stroke 2 years ago, so I can’t understand his speaking.

    #2 Local school children who went to COP
    All they did was put teachers commuting in a spreadsheet, add up the CO2 and tell them to use bikes.

    Like

  161. “Cop26 targets too weak to stop disaster, say Paris agreement architects
    Figueres, Tubiana and Fabius warn that leaders must improve plans next year if world is to stay within crucial 1.5C limit”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/11/cop26-targets-too-weak-to-stop-disaster-say-paris-agreement-architects

    “World leaders will have to return to the negotiating table next year with improved plans to cut greenhouse gases because the proposed targets agreed at the Cop26 summit are too weak to prevent disastrous levels of global heating, the three architects of the Paris agreement have warned.

    Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate chief who oversaw the 2015 Paris summit, and Laurence Tubiana, the French diplomat who crafted the agreement, have told the Guardian the deadline is essential if the world is to avoid exceeding its 1.5C temperature limit. Laurent Fabius, the former French foreign minister who also oversaw Paris, added: “In the present circumstances [targets] must be enhanced next year.”

    The last-ditch intervention by such senior figures, with the Glasgow talks reaching their final hours, reveals the heightened alarm among many experts over the chasm between carbon targets and the deep cuts necessary to limit temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

    Current national plans – known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – would lead to 2.4C of heating, according to an influential analysis this week by Climate Action Tracker.

    Countries are currently expected to return with better pledges in 2025, but many are now demanding the deadline should be brought forward. This is seen as the most closely fought area of disagreement as the UK hosts struggle to broker a deal.

    “If that [five years] is the first time that countries are called to increase their ambitions, honestly that’s going to be too late,” said Figueres, founding partner of the Global Optimism thinktank.

    “This is critically important. We need much more urgency, as this is the critical decade. We need to come back next year. We can’t wait five years for new NDCs.”

    Figueres and Tubiana said forcing countries to return with improved targets next year was allowed under the legal provisions of the Paris agreement. The European Union and the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, have also intervened to support the proposal. Guterres told the conference last week: “Let’s have no illusions: if commitments fall short by the end of this Cop, countries must revisit their national climate plans and policies. Not every five years. Every year.”

    Tubiana, now chief of the European Climate Foundation, said: “It’s really important that we come back next year, and in 2023. That must be central to any outcome in Glasgow. This is necessary to fulfil the Paris agreement.””

    And so it goes, on and on and on, year after year, one more “last chance”, it’s never enough, we have to do more, another green troughfest. They’ll probably still be at it when I’m in my 80s.

    Like

  162. ITV local news : COP26 They went to Barnsley Market and then air clips of 9 people with fear of Climate Change
    and 1 skeptic.
    I reckon they might have edited a lot of skeptics out.

    “Here at COP26 there are FEARS the deal may be watered down”

    Who fears ?
    Not me

    Like

  165. Around ten minutes ago:

    John Kerry lauds the participants for their “spirit of compromise and global intent”.

    He says, in spite of the dissatisfaction felt by many, the agreements being reached represent “a very important step in the right direction”.

    “Not everyone gets to make choices about life and death. Not everyone gets to make choices that actually affect our planet,” he tells the summit.

    “We here are privileged to do that.”

    Man’s Search for Meaning, as Viktor Frankl would say.

    At the expense of almost everyone else.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-59253838

    Liked by 1 person

  166. GB news has COP26 coverage
    They have a 3 person panel, all appear to be skeptics of different political background
    Lembit Opik, A conservative black woman
    Now Benny Peiser is on (I’m watching with a 30 min delay)
    The presenter is Ray Mears (ah viewers say “another climate nutjob” )

    A 2 min video

    Full video https://youtu.be/TQBPOnPGBKk

    Liked by 1 person

  168. What a waste of time. China and India flex their geopolitical muscle and trash any move to phase out burning coal (in fact China brazenly boasted about producing record amounts of coal in a single day this week). In contrast Western wokes push for producers of our petroleum lifeblood to be financially gutted. Well done them. The UN’s mission to redistribute wealth seems well on-track and what a legacy for Boris and chums. And we do it all again in Egypt next year. Cups runners over.

    Liked by 2 people

  169. The COP26 agreement was so bad
    .. that the privileged grandchildren of top millionaire EU officials with gold-plated pensions
    “will fight with other human beings for water and food.
    That’s the stark reality we face.”

    “Reality” I doubt it, you emotional-blackmailing dramaqueen.

    Yet according to the Green Party that’s “science it’s a no-brainer”
    … https://twitter.com/ShahrarAli/status/1459295530991947777

    Like

  171. Epic failure, I’d say:

    “India criticised over coal at Cop26 – but real villain was climate injustice
    Experts say country’s watering down of fossil fuel pledge reflected its lack of choices”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/14/india-criticised-over-coal-at-cop26-but-real-villain-was-climate-injustice

    “It was a dramatic 11th-hour decision, portrayed as a devastating blow to the success of Cop26.

    After pressure exerted by India and China, the wording of the final deal was watered down to a pledge to “phase down” rather than “phase out” coal. Alok Sharma, the president of Cop26, was on the brink of tears as he explained what had happened and the last-minute alteration brought sharp words of rebuke from the US and other nations.

    While it was China that reportedly pushed hard for a softening of the language over coal in the final negotiations, it was India’s environment minister, Bhupender Yadav, who read out a new version of the Glasgow pact that used the watered-down commitment to a “phase down” of coal. Many speculated that it had fallen to India alone to announce the softening of the language over coal because it was seen as more palatable than an intervention by China.

    India was not the first to push for a “phase down” of coal at Cop26. The US and China had already used the “phase down” language in the bilateral climate agreement signed on 10 November.

    Among many climate experts, the consensus was that India was not the villain it was being portrayed as. Many said the criticism of India’s position highlights how the issues of climate injustice are still rife, with developing countries expected to meet the same commitments as wealthy developed countries, who have historically emitted the most and also have access to vast financial resources and alternatives such as natural gas.

    “India setting a net zero target and agreeing to phase down of coal is surely a step forward from where it was in terms of national policies and commitments before arriving at Cop this year,” said Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air in India.

    This was the first time that any explicit commitment to phasing out any fossil fuel had been included in an international climate pact signed by India, which many said was still significant progress alongside India’s pledge to go net zero in 2070, announced on the opening day of Cop26 by the prime minister, Narendra Modi.

    Dahiya said it was more important for India to commit to a date when it would hit peak coal, rather than being pressured into pledges to end the use of coal on the same timeline as the west. “If India formulates a detailed plan for coal phase-down and aggressive renewable energy deployment, they will be on track to diminishing coal capacity and consumption,” he said.

    India has made huge strides in expanding renewables, but it still relies on coal for 70% of its energy and there is still no clear pathway for how the country can phase out coal entirely without the Indian people and economy paying a heavy price. Over the next 20 years, India’s energy demand is expected to grow faster than any other country as it grows, develops, industrialises and urbanises. Meanwhile access to uninterrupted electricity is still a pipedream in many rural areas.”

    I don’t blame India in the slightest for its realism, but don’t blame the west for India’s realism. What a load of tosh appears in the Guardian.

    Like

  172. “After the failure of Cop26, there’s only one last hope for our survival
    George Monbiot”

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/14/cop26-last-hope-survival-climate-civil-disobedience

    “Now it’s a straight fight for survival. The Glasgow Climate Pact, for all its restrained and diplomatic language, looks like a suicide pact. After so many squandered years of denial, distraction and delay, it’s too late for incremental change. A fair chance of preventing more than 1.5C of heating means cutting greenhouse gas emissions by about 7% every year: faster than they fell in 2020, at the height of the pandemic.

    What we needed at the Cop26 climate conference was a decision to burn no more fossil fuels after 2030. Instead, powerful governments sought a compromise between our prospects of survival and the interests of the fossil fuel industry. But there was no room for compromise. Without massive and immediate change, we face the possibility of cascading environmental collapse, as Earth systems pass critical thresholds and flip into new and hostile states.

    So does this mean we might as well give up? It does not….”

    Of course not – we’ll never hear the last of climate change for the rest of my life, I suspect. Despite all the talk of “10 years to save the planet” and “last chance” etc, it never is the end of the hysteria. It’s like a religious cult whose leader declares that the world will end on X date, but it doesn’t. There’s always a reason why it didn’t, and a reason why the religious fervour must be maintained.

    “But let’s assume for a moment that we can shove the dead weight of these legacy industries aside, and consign fossil fuels to history. Will that really have solved our existential crisis? One aspect of it, perhaps. Yet I’m dismayed by the narrowness of the focus on carbon, in the Glasgow pact and elsewhere, to the exclusion of our other assaults on the living world.

    Electric cars are a classic example of the problem. It’s true that within a few years, as the advocates argue, the entire stinking infrastructure of petrol and diesel could be overthrown. But what is locally clean is globally filthy. The mining of the materials required for this massive deployment of batteries and electronics is already destroying communities, ripping down forests, polluting rivers, trashing fragile deserts and, in some cases, forcing people into near-slavery. Our “clean, green” transport revolution is being built with the help of blood cobalt, blood lithium and blood copper. Though the emissions of both carbon dioxide and local pollutants will undoubtedly fall, we are still left with a stupid, dysfunctional transport system that clogs the streets with one-tonne metal boxes in which single people travel. New roads will still carve up rainforests and other threatened places, catalysing new waves of destruction.”

    Is George finally waking up to the fact that we humans are trashing the planet in many ways far more damaging than climate change?

    Like

  173. I think it’s safe to say that the headline is absolute tosh:

    “COP26: Climate deal sounds the death knell for coal power – PM”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59284505

    “The Glasgow climate deal is a “game-changing agreement” which sounds “the death knell for coal power”, Boris Johnson says.

    Although countries only agreed to “phase down” rather than “phase out” coal, the prime minister said this was a fantastic achievement.

    The wording change was made after a late intervention by China and India.

    But it remains the first time plans to reduce coal have been mentioned in such a climate deal.

    The agreement was reached after the two-week Glasgow COP26 summit went into overtime on Saturday.

    Critics have said the deal does not go far enough and will not meet the key summit goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C by the end of the century.”

    Like

  174. From the “you couldn’t make it up school” – this is what sceptics have been saying all along, for which we have been labelled deniers:

    “COP26: UN climate official says consequences of coal pledge need to be ‘balanced'”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-59280799

    “The UN’s top climate official says naming coal as a large source of global emissions at COP26 is a “huge step forward”, despite a last minute change of wording that has been seen as weakening the final agreement.

    India and China asked for a crucial last minute change, calling for the “phase down” not the “phase out” of coal power.

    Patricia Espinosa told the BBC’s Andrew Marr that reducing coal use has to be balanced with the resulting social consequences.”

    Like

  175. So, did COP26 increase Archbishop Welby’s width of genocide or not? I don’t think he’s commented on the outcome yet.

    (No nudity again. There always used to be nudity at COPs, whatever the weather. We’re doomed.)

    Like

  176. Good news, Carry on Partying 27, Sharm El-Sheikh, be there or be square.
    Warmer, sunnier, good beaches & no riff-raff demonstrating.

    Like

  177. BBCnews Homepage
    They have gone to special trouble on the thumbnail of the Boris speech
    .. made it an image of a backlit cooling towers at a power station,
    that they traditionally pretend is clouds of dirty CO2
    it’s actually water vapour
    The 3 exhaust towers aren’t emitting visible dirt
    The video is just Boris and has no image of any power stations.

    Like

  178. Why’s does the media not mention the huge contradiction in Boris’s COP26 policy
    #1 He forces us to pay for Carbon Capture And Storage projects CCS
    promising it is likely to work

    #2 He says banning coal is the only way

    Em if CCS worked you could burn lots of coal and simply collect its CO2 with CCS

    Liked by 1 person

  179. “Greta Thunberg: ‘COP26 even watered down the blah, blah, blah’”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-59298344

    “Greta Thunberg says the outcome of COP26 is a disappointment as there is still no guarantee the planet’s temperature rise will be limited to 1.5C.

    The climate campaigner told BBC Scotland: “They even succeeded in watering down the blah, blah, blah which is quite an achievement.”

    Speaking from Sweden, she said some “small steps forward” may have been made but the Glasgow Climate Pact was very vague and open to differing interpretations.”

    Perhaps the BBC has simplified what she said. If anyone thinks anything humankind can do can “GUARANTEE the planet’s temperature rise will be limited to 1.5C” then they are delusional.

    Like

  186. “COP26 plan leaves young people feeling ‘betrayed'”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-59294180

    “Young people have said they feel “betrayed” by the COP26 plan to phase down rather than phase out coal.

    Students from Bristol and Bath said the resolution’s lack of urgency was “frightening and upsetting”.

    A recent study has shown immediate government inaction on climate issues is “inextricably linked” to “eco anxiety” in people under the age of 25.

    A Bath University researcher said the plan would exacerbate young people’s anxieties about the environment.

    Environmental psychologist Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh said their sense of betrayal was “understandable”….”.

    Bristol and Bath seem to be taking over from Brighton.

    Like

  187. “US auctions off oil and gas drilling leases in Gulf of Mexico after climate talks
    Biden administration launching auction of more than 80m acres for fossil fuel extraction that experts call ‘incredibly reckless’”

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/17/biden-administration-gulf-of-mexico-oil-gas-drilling-leases

    “Just four days after landmark climate talks in Scotland in which Joe Biden vowed the US will “lead by example” in tackling dangerous global heating, the president’s own administration is providing a jarring contradiction – the largest ever sale of oil and gas drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico.

    The US federal government is on Wednesday launching an auction of more than 80m acres of the gulf for fossil fuel extraction, a record sell-off that will lock in years, and potentially decades, of planet-heating emissions.

    The enormous size of the lease sale – covering an area that is twice as large as Florida – is a blunt repudiation of Biden’s previous promise to shut down new drilling on public lands and waters. It has stunned environmentalists who argue the auction punctures the US’s shaky credibility on the climate crisis and will make it harder to avert catastrophic impacts from soaring global heating.”

    “Coming in the aftermath of the climate summit, this is just mind boggling. It’s hard to imagine a more hypocritical and dangerous thing for the administration to do,” said Kristen Monsell, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s incredibly reckless and we think unlawful too. It’s just immensely disappointing.”

    Even Biden’s Democratic allies have raised concerns.

    “This administration went to Scotland and told the world that America’s climate leadership is back, and now it’s about to hand over 80m acres of public waters in the Gulf of Mexico to fossil fuel companies,” said Raul Grijalva, chair of the House natural resources committee. “[The] lease sale is a step in the wrong direction, and the administration needs to do better.”

    There is no guarantee that all the leases will be taken up by oil and gas companies but the Department of the Interior, which oversees public lands and waters, has estimated there is as much as 1.12bn barrels of oil and 4.2tn cubic ft of gas available for extraction. A separate lease sale offered by the government in Alaska’s Cook Inlet will offer up another 192m barrels of oil and 301bn cubic ft of gas to drillers.

    Combined, these leases would result in nearly 600m tons of planet-heating gases if fully developed over the next four decades, which is more than the total annual emissions of the UK.”

    Like

  189. “COP26: UK ‘nowhere near’ meeting targets agreed at Glasgow climate summit
    By Roger Harrabin
    BBC environment analyst”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59489563

    “The UK is “nowhere near” meeting emissions targets enshrined at the Glasgow climate summit, official advisers have warned.

    The Climate Change Committee (CCC) says that, at current rates, the UK will be contributing to a disastrous temperature rise of 2.7C by 2100.

    It says this could – in theory – be brought down to just under 2C.

    But this could only happen if ministers agree tougher policies, and if other nations slash emissions too.”

    Perhaps they should be reminded that the UK’s emissions are around 1% of ther global total, and that other nations don’t seem much interested in helping.

    Like

  190. “Hope on the banks of the Clyde: Cop26 legacy sculpture installed
    Artist Steuart Padwick says the child’s arms reach across Glasgow with a simple, positive message”

    https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/dec/06/hope-sculpture-glasgow-cop26-steuart-padwick

    “A new public sculpture that calls for optimism about humanity’s response to the climate crisis has been installed in a park once home to Glasgow’s last working coalmine.

    The Hope Sculpture, featuring an androgynous child placed more than 20 metres high, has been erected on the bank of the Clyde as a permanent reminder of Glasgow’s role as host of the Cop26 climate summit in November.

    It stands in Cuningar Loop, a former industrial site converted into a woodland park that is also the home of a British Geological Survey test facility studying the potential for drawing zero-carbon geothermal energy from the flooded former mine shafts….

    …The 23-metre-high Hope Sculpture has been designed by Steuart Padwick, an artist and sculptor known for his Head above Water sculpture on the Thames near the Oxo tower in London. It has been built using low-carbon, recycled and repurposed materials, including a concrete made without cement – a material globally responsible for releasing 2.8bn tonnes of CO2.

    It has two companion pieces – a 4.5-metre-high wooden figure on the main concourse at Glasgow Central station, cut from Scottish spruce, and a 3.5-metre-high, three-figure installation in gardens at Strathclyde University cut from reclaimed steel

    Padwick said he wanted to suggest humanity had a positive future; he had despaired at the anxiety he had seen in children worrying about the fate of the planet. The figure’s outstretched arms are designed to be embracing.

    “It is reaching out across Glasgow. Its message is very simple: why would anyone want to poison their future,” he said….”.

    Like

  191. @Mark Hodgson
    what a ugly thing that “Hope Sculpture” is, reminds me of Gort from “Day the Earth Stood Still” or is just me ?

    wonder how long before the local kids scale that thing ?

    Like

  193. It looks like Morph to me.

    Not wanting to go to the Guardian because it now requires registration, I searched images for the sculpture instead. That did not throw up many relevant results, but it did throw up some interesting ones, including a Glasgow street scene from the 1950s. That led me to older photographs, and photos of the Gorbals in the 40s: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5133019/Life-Gorbals-Photos-reveal-Glasgows-1940s-slums.html

    When I reached the family at the table, I wondered: if you asked them what hope meant, how would they reply?

    (The captioning is a tad overzealous.)

    Liked by 1 person

  194. “Climate change: Wales COP26 events ‘costly failure'”

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59670318

    “A series of events held in Wales to coincide with the COP26 climate summit has been branded a costly “failure” by the Welsh Conservatives.

    Figures obtained by the party show the Welsh government spent £235,000 on COP Cymru.

    But the Tories claim the programme of debates and lectures resulted in little public or media interest.

    The Welsh government said more than 3,800 people had attended the events online.

    The series started days before the summit in Glasgow with the launch of the Welsh government’s Net Zero plan – with a panel session in Port Talbot streamed live to a virtual audience.

    A roadshow followed during COP26 itself- with four debate and discussion events held in different parts of Wales looking at energy, nature, climate change adaptation and transport.

    This was followed by a Wales Climate Week at the end of November – a five-day programme of virtual events.”

    Like

  196. “Tory peer attended Cop26 summit for Russia, UN list shows
    Former energy minister Greg Barker went to climate talks as part of Russian Federation party”

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/tory-peer-cop26-climate-summit-russia-greg-barker

    “A Conservative peer attended Cop26 in Glasgow as part of Russia’s group of participants at the UN climate summit, the Guardian can reveal.

    Greg Barker, a former energy minister when David Cameron was prime minister, attended the talks as part of the party of the Russian Federation, according to a list published by the UN.

    Lord Barker resigned on Monday as chair of the Russian mining company En+ Group. The company is part-owned by the Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who was sanctioned by the US in 2018. En+ confirmed that Barker attended with a pass from Russia’s allocation.

    His resignation followed intense scrutiny of his relationship with the company, including by senior Tory party colleagues, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Share instruments in En+, which is incorporated in Russia, were suspended from trading on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday.

    The presence of Barker on the list emerged in analysis of lobbying at the summit by three non-government organisations – Global Witness, Corporate Accountability and Corporate Europe Observatory.

    Barker was ennobled in 2015 by Cameron, after serving for four years as minister of state for climate change. Barker had served as Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle. However, he is not thought to have attended the House of Lords since 2019.”

    Like

  198. “Alok Sharma in running to be UN’s global climate chief
    UK cabinet minister who led Cop26 understood to have been approached and expressed interest in the role”

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/08/alok-sharma-in-running-to-be-uns-global-climate-chief

    “Alok Sharma, the UK cabinet minister who led last year’s Cop26 climate summit, is in the running to be the UN’s global climate chief, at a crucial time for international action on greenhouse gas emissions.

    The UN’s current top climate official, Patricia Espinosa, will step down next month, leaving a vacancy as the world prepares for the next stage in vital negotiations to stave off climate breakdown.

    Scientists have warned it is “now or never” for climate action, as only decisive measures in the next few years can give the world a chance of avoiding irreversible changes to the Earth’s climate.”

    “Now or never” again? It’s like Groundhog Day.

    Like

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