COP29

"Oil, gas, wind, sun, gold, silver, copper, all... are natural resources and countries should not be blamed for having them, and should not be blamed for bringing these resources to the market, because the market needs them."

Things get done when money is offered for them to be done?

Odd to lump wind and sun in with the rest there. No country would get very far without them. The rest can either be replaced or reused.

Anybody that brings god in to the equation in their opening speech can **** right off. This is a man made problem and needs treating as such. I've given up on COP, it has become utterly depressing and a joke.

I think this just reveals what a sham it is, what we always thought it probably was but hoped something good might come out of it.

I’m really struggling with the point of cop. What will it actually achieve. We are going to have hundreds of climate activists and business from all points of the compass travelling there for what purpose ? I have friend who works for a civil engineering company that is going with a view to winning work to build more stuff. It seems like a very expensive and eco negative event imho

It's a farce. The planet will break down, basically, because rich* folk won't give up an iota of their lifestyle even if it is in the common good.

You only have to listen to the inane toss that Starmer is coming out with. "We're going to get the UK back to pre-1990 carbon emissions levels (a huge and demanding undertaking) but we won't tell people how to live their lives".

Bullshit. We won't get halfway without basically legislating the population into it. Pretending you can do one without the other is for Jackanory.

Add in that sack of orange pus waiting to take office in the US.

Everyone might as well pack up and **** off home. Write a note to future generations saying "Sorry, we could have stopped it but we couldn't be arsed". And crack on.

*I.e. consumers in developed nations.

A timeout thread, I was just thinking similar.

It's like noone is really even trying not that they know Trump's back on the scene.

Yep. Flying thousands of people out to a country that we'd be lecturing about civil liberties if they weren't so resource rich. All so the people at the top can say that they will do something whilst sitting on their hands and doing nothing because nobody ever won the popular vote by making it harder for people to drive to school/work/the shops.

David Lamy is an interesting one, he was very critical of trump but now he seems to be sucking on the teat of US diplomacy.

Of course he has to, now, and I bet it really pisses him off to try to be polite to someone so hatefull.

You get the feeling they might be taking the piss a bit?

The '29' bit is all we need to know really

The need for a conference to discuss climate change ended 20+ years ago.  There is nothing new to talk about, except maybe that the early predictions were too modest vs reality. And that can all be agreed between the scientists via an email and SurveyChimp vote.

It's like the UN as a whole really - an utter waste of space and energy with ****all positive outcomes from  all the hot air that is generated. .in fact their hot air and gassing is  probably the 3rd worst contributor to the problem.

It just reminds me of how short sighted we are and how we will completely **** ourselves as a species whilst taking other lifeforms with us for the lolz. All because we love money, cheap tat and convenience.

It's utterly pointless (from an environmental point of view).

Last time after a week of squabbling they finally agreed that the Gulf states wouldn't cut down their rain forests, Switzerland wouldn't do any off shore oil drilling, Scotland had to have at least 10 wind turbines and Norway should try and make some electricity from hydro.

So everyone can continue to do exactly what they want as long as they chuck a few dollars at the Philippines.

Pathetic.

nobody ever won the popular vote by making it harder for people to drive to school/work/the shops

Close the thread. Nails it.

COP now reminds me of when the International Whaling Commission was taken over by landlocked countries in the 70s who then forced it to stop whaling.

It's been hijacked completely by those with a different agenda to the initial organisers intentions.

It's rare I agree with chrismac, but as an environmentalist I'm baffled by what the point of COP is if the companies that are causing the most climate damage are invited to attend and make deals, and the countries with the biggest impact are running it. Why is it being awarded to the likes of Azerbaijan, and why are the likes of BP attending?

i8ts also worth noting that not a single country has ever met its commitments made at the COP meetings before.  some have got close in some areas, some have just ignored them.  Not one has met them.

Its a sham

and why are the likes of BP attending?

those corporate interest won’t look after themselves. I'm sure there are some nice hotels and pr imagery that can be created they can use for the annual report and other pr exercises. There may even be some deals to do more drilling made whilst they are there.

and why are the likes of BP attending?

I work for an environmental education organisation. I have turned down oil funds from Exxon, Shell and BP in recent years.

I have this morning applied to a fund from a windfarm and an environmental organisation for a project.

All good.

But to take money from the windfarm means renewable energy is more expensive. But the oil company no longer donates £m so the carbon heavy fuel is cheaper. The windfarm operator and donor is BP.

The environmental organisation has a significant endowment and has £m's a year from that endowment, all invested sustainably. The endowment fund was originally from BP.

So, should I walk away from the 'windfarm' funds and the 'sustainable, environmental' organisation?

And for the record, I agree that COP is pretty poor. It is increasingly hijacked by big companies with ulterior motives IMO.

We (the boss) attended last year in Dubai and I attended Glasgow. I have been invited to the next one, both in my role at work and as an IUCN Special Commissioner (Nature in Education). A very difficult choice over going: there is a lot of hot air and carbon involved in COP, but there is also a really good connections and  work which would not happen without it.

We can see UK Government projects which we partly deliver, which would not exist unless I happened to be sat at a table in Glasgow a few years ago and began speaking to a few colleagues from around the world - with UK Government Departments sat next to me. We would not see some global partnerships that I think are at the cutting edge of climate education if my boss had not met them last year in Dubai. I would not be leading the climate education work we do if from Glasgow COP I had been invited to attend a Salzburg Global week with 80 others from around the world. COP has been an instigator of action for us as an organisation. I cannot see how else we can make the connections we need and have time for conversation with some pretty unique people without being at such things as COP on occasion.

We made this film with partners last year: it sums up where we are. It is partly why I refused to go this week and why I refused the Global Biodiversity summit in October. But I may be there next year.

Action is needed. But sadly COP as an engagement and talking shop is a valuable meeting point so that we can take more action.