No. 57November 2, 2021
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COP26 Will Stand As Great Historical Fraud
Program of Climate Crisis Profiteering and
Pay-the-Rich Schemes
Glasgow, protest on opening day of COP26, October 31, 2021
The UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26) being held in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12 has adopted the slogan “uniting the world to tackle climate change.” The comments and commitments of various leaders about what they are willing to do sets the orientation for the rest of the proceedings where negotiators will work out agreements and decisions that will be announced at the end of the Summit.
The Opening Ceremonies on November 1 were revealing as regards the agenda of the rich and powerful countries which dominate the climate change narrative. Talk centred on the urgency of the situation and the need for every participating and non-participating country to reduce carbon emissions, increase carbon capture and develop renewable sources of energy to prevent the world’s temperature increase going above 1.5 °C by 2030. There was also a lot of talk about the “developed countries” fulfilling their commitment to fund the “developing countries.”
It is well known that the standard of living and excesses of the so-called developed countries are acquired on the basis of their super-exploitation of the countries called under-developed. The official narrative covers up the reality of the relations which exist between humans and humans and humans and nature. All of it is to perpetrate the historical fraud that the gods of plague will sort out the problems facing humanity. The claims of humankind are being expressed by the peoples themselves in their mass demonstrations and protests which are taking place during COP26.
According to media reports, the main message of COP26 is not in what various “leaders” “are willing to do,” but in “how it is to be done.” What is apparent, however, is that whatever measures are taken in the name of addressing the climate crisis, they will not entail the mobilization of the human and natural resources of each country in a manner that puts the needs of the peoples in first place, beginning with their need to take the decisions which affect their lives. Governments representing the interests of the oligopolies are in their service to make super profits from “greening the economy.” That is the bottom line. They have put forward a clear framework: “the private sector” must unite to do the job that they have declared the “public sector” cannot do. It serves to cloud the fact that the public sector has been taken over by the private sector in a world marked by the politicization of private interests.
COP26 will stand as a big internationally coordinated fraud to push schemes to pay the rich, both the corporations positioned to seize the day and the financiers who will reap the interest payments on funding the new “green economy” while exercising control over who will or will not be allowed entry into the projects they finance.
The opening ceremonies of COP26 revealed that the slogan “Uniting the world to tackle climate change” is rooted in excluding the peoples who will pay the price from having a say on the matter. They will pay in various forms — interest on financing, whether it is funneled through governments or through supranational bodies, and increased costs for goods and services plus the results of the damage being done to the environment. The peoples are nonetheless refusing to be reduced to spectators. They oppose the shameless patronizing and condescending references and homages to the courage and determination of the youth in demanding climate crisis action. What the youth are demanding is their right to decide, their right to have a say and a bright future built by the peoples of the world in their favour.
Canada’s prime minister is the prime example of someone incapable of feeling shame. He declared to the world’s youth — “your leaders are listening” to reinforce the unacceptable state of affairs where there are those who govern and those who are governed and must submit to whatever is done in their name. Those who do not accept this dictatorship pose, according to Trudeau, the main danger to the security of the world at this time.
COP26 is a concentrated expression of the ongoing politicization of private interests and destruction of national sovereign governance. On November 1, Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will cap oil and gas emissions. He did so without the Canadian Parliament having deliberated on the matter, let alone approving it and nor have the legislatures of Quebec, the provinces and territories. It is sufficient, we are told, that capping oil and gas emissions was mentioned in the 2021 Liberal election platform. According to the logic of the rulers foreign policy is a prerogative power in the hands of the executive level of government and since these decisions are taken in international conferences, this permits the government to impose them without discussion.
Clearly, the peoples must discuss among their peers and establish their own, independent political positions — positions which unite the people to make way for democratic renewal.
Who Decides? We Decide!
Whose Resources? Our Resources!
Whose Future? Our Future?
Who Are the Builders? We Are the Builders!
All Out to Humanize the Social and Natural Environment by Defending the Rights of All!
Calendar of Events: Global Days of Action for Climate Justice
G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting in Sorrento, Italy
Canada Pushes Deception of “Rules-Based International Trading System”
Mary Ng, Canadian Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade issued a statement on October 13 following the conclusion of the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting in Sorrento, Italy. She reiterated the Trudeau government fraud of “strengthening the rules-based international trading system that has the WTO [World Trade Organization] at its core.”
The “rules-based international trading system” is a deceptive moving target and not a principled system of international laws to which sovereign countries have given their formal approval. The most powerful members of “the rules-based system” constantly change the rules to suit the private cartels and monopolies operating within their jurisdictions or regions of control. The “rules-based system” is a concoction of the most powerful members of the international oligarchy serving their private interests and property.
For example, U.S. telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics companies are upset with the emerging economic competition from China, in particular Huawei but others as well. Suddenly the “rules-based international trading system” declared that Huawei is not allowed to do business with any entity within the U.S. imperialist system of states. The Canadian government meekly agreed to the new “rules” and arrested Meng Wanzhou, a leading executive of Huawei, for allegedly violating the “rules-based international trading system.” The government held her captive in Vancouver for almost three years until a deal with the U.S. was arranged for her release. The Trudeau government at the behest of powerful U.S. private interests is also mulling over whether to ban Huawei altogether from operating in Canada.
The “rules-based system of international trade” is incapable of solving problems arising in international trade because it lacks the sovereign authority of the peoples and is subject to the unprincipled whims of private property and interests. An example is the fishing dispute between France and the UK following Brexit that has escalated to violent threats over fishing rights in the waters surrounding Jersey Island. Brexit has also opened old wounds surrounding the movement of goods and people across the British-imposed border between Ireland and UK-controlled northern Ireland.
The “rules-based system” contradicts the modern necessity for international trade and investment based on principles of mutual benefit and development among sovereign countries. International trade and investment currently serve the most powerful oligarchs and their private interests and property. They concoct and enforce whatever “rules-based system” serves their private property and interests at the time.
The private interests and property of the global oligarchy have grown so powerful that they have overwhelmed any possibility at the moment of principled trade for mutual benefit. Canadians can turn the situation around through democratic renewal of the political process and bring themselves to power instead of this or that cartel party serving the oligarchy as is currently the case.
Canada’s Endorsement of Pay-the-Rich Schemes in the Name of High Ideals
The statement from Minister Ng following the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting in Sorrento, Italy also made mention of the Trudeau government supporting “businesses seeking to expand into international markets, including support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which are vital to Canada’s economic growth and the prosperity of Canadians.” This language is code for government handouts to the oligarchs and their cartels to better compete against rivals in international trade.
The “rules” regarding subsidies to certain private interests and property are very flexible and subject to interpretation. Some subsidies to private property within the U.S. international system of states are fine while others are not, depending on the recipients. Most state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China and elsewhere are considered in violation of the “rules-based system.” The SOEs are rule-breakers as the profit they claim goes to a state-controlled entity and not private property. However, an SOE, public-private partnership or state handout serving private property of the oligarchs within the U.S. Empire is generally not considered in conflict with the “rules-based system” unless competing oligarchs raise objections.
Modern conditions demand that international trade must serve the mutual interests of the sovereign peoples and the development of the economies and countries involved in trade. The global oligarchy subverts this modern necessity with its domination and “rules-based system.” The private interests and property of the most powerful oligarchs compete and serve their demand for maximum private profit in contradiction with the peoples of the world. This leads to anarchy and violence in international affairs such as the world is witnessing in the U.S.-led campaign and preparations for war against China, Russia and others deemed unfair “competitors” in violation of the “rules-based system.”
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