COP28: Climate policies in danger?
The path followed by the United Kingdom is worrying. As the COP28 is opening in the United Arab Emirates, a few reflections on what's at stake.
Dear readers,
A different type of post this time.
More of an article in itself.
This autumn, on top of covering African news & culture, and the appalling situation in Gaza, because I spend so much time in the UK, I also followed the recent debates on how to respond to the climate crisis…
Despite leaving the EU in 2020, the United Kingdom will come to the UN’s COP28 opening in Dubai on 30 November, “with similar demands to the bloc”, Reuters wrote - including on phasing out fossil fuels and tripling renewable energy.
However, London raised eyebrows among some climate diplomats by weakening some green policies and approving 27 licenses for oil and gas exploration. The UK government says it is still on track to meet its climate targets.
I wanted to say a little more about the issues, as I care, the UK is my second country out of three, and the one in difficulty in that matter.
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UK - Climate policies in danger?
Since the United Kingdom left the European Union, many Britons have been fearing a drop in the management of many standards, particularly for labor law, immigration and environmental policies.
Since this autumn, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reinforced these fears, announcing a “pause” in measures to combat global warming and reduce carbon emissions. A sign that puts climate activists on alert, in a country that has given birth to powerful movements in this area including Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil.
A few weeks before the little-anticipated COP28 in Dubai, politicians, researchers and activists refuse to give up.
Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said: “I am announcing today that we will slow down the transition to electric vehicles. You will now be able to buy oil-powered vehicles until 2035."
It was this speech, delivered in London on September 20, which ignited a crisis in Great Britain.
By announcing the postponement of the obligation to purchase non-polluting vehicles to 2035, instead of 2030, Sunak has caused deep concern among activists involved in the fight against climate change.
The conservative leader also announced that he was abandoning numerous proposals, arguing that he wanted to give the British time to prepare...
“I am therefore announcing that we are going to give the British much more time to prepare for this type of necessary transition, particularly towards heat pumps,” he added. “The proposal which wanted the government to decide the number of passengers that each person can carry in their vehicle, I rejected. I rejected the proposal that we force you to have seven different trash cans in your home. That of making you change your diet, or that of taxing meat, I rejected them. I also rejected the proposals to create new taxes against air travel. And we’re not going to ban oil and gas from the North Sea either, which would simply leave us dependent on energy imports from dictators like Putin.”
The Prime Minister also encouraged the exploitation of new oil fields in Scotland and ultra-polluting projects, while abandoning a controversial high-speed train plan to link London to Manchester in the North East of England.
For environmental activists, and politicians committed to the subject, this change in direction is a very bad signal, especially since the government is facing many challenges: report on the mismanagement of Covid, internal divisions, challenges in matters foreign policy in Ukraine and the Middle East…
Dr Alix Dietzel is a lecturer and researcher in 'Climate Justice' at the University of Bristol, in the west of England, where commitment to tackling the climate crisis is very strong.
She thinks these choices are risky...
“What is difficult is that the government is trying to present these choices as maintaining the objectives with a slight adjustment of the deadlines…” Dietzel told me.
“So it is difficult to analyse what they are really going to do. But to me it feels like a step backwards, because any delay will affect lives. And this shows this government's lack of environmental priorities, which of course saddens me. As soon as we see this type of decline, we should be concerned.”
For Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party - the green party - and municipal representative, also in Bristol, the Prime Minister's vision goes against the needs of the country and the rest of the world...
“Rishi Sunak’s change of direction on ‘Net Zero’ projects is truly worrying and so short-sighted,” Denyer told me.
“And we already know from surveys that many Britons want to move faster in this area. As a result, this will inevitably delay the country's progress, especially since those who criticised these choices are not only all in the Green Party but also the automobile industry.”
On the contrary, she thinks that the United Kingdom has a duty to do more…
“As one of the richest countries in the world, and one that has historically contributed the most to greenhouse gas emissions, given that the Industrial Revolution started here, the UK and cities like here in Bristol have a great responsibility and must help lead the movement for de-carbonisation,” she added.
Since then, demonstrations against these political choices have resumed with renewed vigour, in Bristol, Manchester and London, by very active groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil.
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg even joined several of them in the capital
“It has been clear for decades that the fossil fuel industries knew perfectly well the consequences of their economic models. And yet, they did nothing”… Thunberg said. “On the contrary! They have actively delayed change, destroyed the planet, and denied the causes of the climate crisis.”
Arrested then released, she immediately returned to participate in other demonstrations.
Eclipsed by the war in Gaza, the issue of the fight against climate remains an emergency, especially since the United Kingdom's position for COP28 - the 28th Conference of States Parties to the Framework Convention of the UN on climate change, has become illegible.
This will be held from November 30 to December 12 in the United Arab Emirates.
For Alix Dietzel, even if the COPs are increasingly criticised for their lack of results, the countries of the North - as well as those of the South - still have a voice to be heard.
“A positive point is that everyone is invited and each country has a technical voice,” she told me. “Even if we know that in reality it is difficult to send delegates to the COPs, it is expensive, translators and resources are needed. And, in reality, votes are not equal at the COPs. But it is a place where we can push to be heard, to include certain opinions, and a place to protest, to respond to what is happening there. And even if you are absent, you can analyse what the discussions mean for the Global South. And it’s very important, especially to keep a critical eye on international negotiations and react when they are unfair.”
At the beginning of November, the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, although busy with the bombings on Gaza, demanded assurances from the United Kingdom that the country would not go back on its climate promises, after Rishi Sunak's retreat on green measures.
Probable response – or not – at the summit in Dubai in a few days…
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Thanks for reading as usual.
Stay well.
Best,
Melissa Chemam
Journalist & Writer
@ RFI English, New Arab, ART UK...
Site: https://sites.google.com/view/melissachemam
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