The most important annual meeting in the world wrapped up this week in Dubai after two weeks of keynote speeches, committee sessions, photo ops, press conferences, royalty, fancy dinners, VIP tours, and glitzy exhibitions. It is referred to officially as the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or for shorthand the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or more informally “COP28” because it is the 28th annual gathering of the “Conference of Parties.”
As usual, the conference adjourned with no major breakthrough, merely restating the long-term dream of ending fossil fuels. Even U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, who went to lecture the world to stop permitting any coal power plants, said the proposed fossil fuel language “does not meet the test.” No one left satisfied with any new policy, though a good time was had by all. Perhaps that’s why they call it the “conference of parties.”
These annual COP conferences have been held for over 40 years now, intended for governments of the world to agree on policies that would limit global temperature increases. They have resulted in a bewildering array of treaties, protocols, agreements, amendments, addendums, side agreements, and especially announcements – not temperature decreases. In fact, what has been the result of all this activity on global warming?
Worldwide greenhouse gas emissions are at record high levels and the use of coal, oil, and gas is higher today than at any time in history. Not in the United States, mind you, but worldwide. These conferences have resulted in precisely nothing when it comes to measuring climate change. One thing has changed, though. The conferences themselves have grown enormously over the years, this latest one being dubbed by some as the largest carbon-footprint conference ever held.
These meetings started in 1992 with key officials from a few dozen countries, but this year’s COP28 attracted 400,000 people, including over 97,000 accredited delegates, sponsors, and speakers. Hundreds of them traveled on private jets, as always, arrived in motorcade limos, bringing large staff and security entourages.
It was by far the largest summit yet, producing by far the largest carbon footprint. Even some environmental organizations were chagrinned at the sheer opulence of it, one of them calling it “basically now a trade fair.” That isn’t the only criticism, either. A BBC report quoted leaked documents revealing that the host country, UAE, planned to use the occasion to make oil and gas deals. Several environmental industry groups were upset that the meeting was held in UAE, and especially that the Chairman was Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company – a producer of fossil fuels!
The most stinging criticism, though, is always about the lack of results. Even before the controversial Paris gathering in 2015, National Geographic magazine wrote, “Since 1992, when the world’s nations agreed at Rio de Janeiro to avoid ‘dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system,’ they’ve met 20 times without moving the needle on carbon emissions. In that interval we’ve added almost as much carbon to the atmosphere as we did in the previous century.” No wonder this year’s attendees did not include President Xi of China, which emits more greenhouses gases than the U.S. and Europe combined. While other countries push policies that would destroy their economies, China builds 182 new coal plants. Meanwhile, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have declined steadily for 20 years.
Major speakers at COP28 included the UN Secretary General and King Charles III, along with such luminaries as the Prime Minister of St. Lucia; Kenya’s Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports; the Head of Social Responsibility for a German software company; Senegal’s Minister of Education; a Saudi princess serving on the board of the World Scout Foundation; the Netherlands’ Ambassador of Youth, Education and Skills; the Indigenous Youth Leader from Ecuador; a group of American high school juniors; and a Columbia University Professor. These are the experts presuming to determine the economic future of the world’s eight billion people.
The goal of all these conferences has changed little since that first one – to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The UN says the Earth has warmed about half that much in the last century and a half, but COP28 advocated policy changes estimated to cost between $110 and $275 trillion – 2.6 times the total global GDP.
That obviously calls for more meetings. Next year Azerbaijan will host the “Conference of Parties.” And quite the party it promises to be.
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