From the Daily Skeptic
Chris Morrison
Consider the BBC's Justin Rowlatt sitting down to breakfast in Baku this morning, wondering how he would reverse the looming disaster of COP29, which started today and is now being ruined by Trump. In happier days, the thought of wasting billions on free handouts or ridiculous climate compensation warms his heart. In happier days, Western governments could pretend to be saving the planet by renewing foreign aid for so-called climate programs. Few people seem to take their climate obligations more seriously than the Belgians, who funded a romantic film about a green activist and a logger who plays rugby in the rainforest. Sadly, so far, your reporters haven't been able to capture this eco-classic when environmentalists meet big guys with big logs. The Belgians called the film “climate finance” because it “deals with deforestation.”
The latest COP in Azerbaijan is all about money – the massive heist of trillions of dollars planned by global elites every year as a transfer from the poor in rich countries to the rich in poor countries. But Trump's election scuppered those plans. America’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, which was crucial for much of this funding, will soon be abandoned by Trump, along with all kinds of green fluff. Can people like Rowlatt step up and put their best foot forward to meet the new reality? BBC journalists have rarely faced such a daunting task.
CFACT's David Wojick isn't optimistic about the prospects of these helpful idiots covering the conference for the mainstream media. “The fact that people are taking this nonsense seriously speaks volumes about the unreality of the UN climate plan. But it will be very interesting to watch them hit the dead end wall,” he said.
If all goes well at COP29, Italians will no longer have to save the planet one ice cream at a time. Part of their past climate aid helped an Italian retailer open a chocolate and ice cream chain in Asia. It was part of a 2015 deal in Paris that pledged $100 billion a year for climate action in developing countries. In fact, a recent investigation by Reuters and Stanford University Local News found that billions of dollars are being spent on building new coal- and gas-fired power stations as well as airport and hotel developments. Japan is said to have provided at least $776.3 million to finance three airports, including the development of Borg El Arab Airport in Egypt. Mohamed Nasr, the pragmatic Egyptian climate minister, noted that “people must fly”.
By far the two largest climate finance donors are the United States and Japan. The researchers found that Japan gives itself wide latitude in defining climate finance. It provided $2.4 billion to help finance the Matarbari ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant in Bangladesh. Clearly, Japan considers Matarbari a project worthy of its climate support because it uses Japanese technology to generate more energy with less coal. If you're worried about carbon dioxide, you won't be happy to know that Matabari will emit more emissions in 2019 than the entire city of San Francisco, according to researchers.
The BBC's desperation was evident in pre-COP texts, with leading eco-activists Matt McGrath and Georgina Rannard saying world leaders “wanted Control rising temperatures, which are making deadly events such as recent floods in Spain more severe.” Note that the usual “scientist says” qualifications for making statements lacking scientific evidence are lacking. Desperate times call for desperate editorial measures. The extravagant belief that humans control the chaotic, non-linear atmosphere and can somehow “control” temperatures around the world is a political message that underpins the increasingly absurd climate emergency and its death-cult net-zero solutions .
Of course, there are many stupid people gathered in Baku who claim that hydrocarbons can be obtained from a modern industrial economy. No one is dumber than crazy Ed Miliband, who is rushing to “decarbonise” the UK grid within the next 60 months. He was told there was no reliable backup to deal with the intermittent breezes and beams, other than a fleet of gas-fired power plants. With Miliband also banning new oil and gas exploration, he may want to meet Azerbaijan's COP team chief Ernur Soltanov.
We thank J. Rowlatt for the report, and Soltanov is using the opportunity to promote the country's booming oil and gas business. After all, getting some hydrocarbons is crucial if you're ethical enough not to mine them yourself. Or the “crazy guy” might encounter a forward-thinking planner on the Trump team. Within the next four years, vast amounts of natural gas will be available across the Atlantic, and the incoming president has promised to “drill the baby drill.” Prices may be slightly higher than any domestic supply due to the need for compression and shipping. As the UK will be dealing with a capitalist dealmaker president at the top, prices will need to reflect all these costs, possibly with a small premium to help appease the conscience of sellers to get customers to buy an extra barrel.
One can hardly blame the representatives of developing countries who showed up in Baku and demanded free funds for severe weather. The island nations will strike out forcefully, claiming rising sea levels will sweep away their coral and sandbank homes. Likewise, generous alms will help soothe the conscience. It must be difficult to continue telling these lies to stupid reporters and politicians when all the scientific evidence shows that most tropical islands in the Pacific grew through natural accretion. But there is no doubt that the cash will be put to good use to build more profitable beach resorts.
But there is a more serious, darker side to the climate donation game – one that some see as a form of climate colonialism. In a recent article Is Watt happy with this?Charles Rotter points out that energy policies set by global financial institutions and wealthy countries prioritize carbon reduction over human development. Across Africa, power outages are common. Nigeria, the region's most populous country, has repeatedly plunged into darkness. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund have cut funding for oil and gas projects, while the European Investment Bank has banned support for hydrocarbon projects. Hopefully, the U.S. can help provide developing countries with reliable power, clean water, and sanitation. This may change. As Rotter points out, forcing developing countries to rely on unreliable and expensive renewable energy means rich countries can maintain their industrial advantage.
This sentiment about the potential evil of the COP would undoubtedly make Rowlatt choke on his organic oatmeal.
Chris Morrison is daily skepticenvironment editor.
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