United Nations Climate Summit COP26 to Open in Glasgow, Scotland

Action in Berlin, Germany ahead of COP26, October 22, 2021

The United Nations Climate Summit called COP26 starts in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday, October 31 and goes through to November 12. COP stands for Conference of Parties and this is its 26th meeting.

Since 1992, heads of state, high level ministers, diplomats and business executives, along with a few non-government organizations (NGOs), have gotten together to issue promises to address the climate crisis which is getting worse every year. They signed a treaty promising to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and prevent dangerous changes to the climate.

How to carry out production, development and distribution in a manner which is sustainable is not rocket science but it does require governments which vest decision-making power in the peoples and put the interests of the natural and social environment at the centre of decision-making, not the interests of the rich. Solving how to do this is the problem facing the peoples in the 21st century. What is needed to protect mother earth which is well-known but the decision-making power is not in the hands of the peoples of most countries, especially those of the big powers which do not permit issues to be settled rationally and peacefully.

For the peoples of the world, it is a matter of making way for political renewal so that they can replace corrupt governments which use every opportunity to make sure the oligopolies they serve make more money.

The Big Powers in fact block taking any action which is not in line with meeting the demands of the rich they serve. At this time it involves paying the rich the cost of building carbon capture facilities, establishing eco-friendly energy projects, renewing their infrastructure to bring it in line with the developments in science and technology which emphasize the use of artificial intelligence, new production techniques, rare earth minerals and competition in the neo-liberal world market.

Terms like “green economy” are used to suggest the methods used are sustainable and friendly to the environment when they do not meet the demands of the peoples of the world who demand accountability. The expression “greenwash” has been coined to underscore the fraud involved in the claim that various projects are eco-friendly, especially those designed to further the aims of war production and the military which is the greatest polluter in the world at this time. In this regard, we are told:

“The Paris Agreement created a novel method for getting to this goal. It works like a GoFundMe, except for the planet. Countries offer their individual ‘contributions’ — their specific plans to cut heat-trapping emissions. The UN then adds them all up and calculates if that sum is enough — or, as now, if a gap remains between those plans and what climate scientists say is needed to avoid the most catastrophic effects.”

“The Glasgow meeting is forcing countries to declare their plans to cut emissions, and maybe go bigger.”

The climate crisis has become very serious and is wreaking havoc all over the world. Hot air is not going to solve it. Renewal Update encourages Canadians and Quebeckers to join forces with the youth and peoples of the world who are speaking out for climate justice. Join the November 6 Global Day of Action for Climate Justice, the People’s Summit from November 7-10 and actions which support the natural environment such as in Canada the Wet’suwet’en peoples’ defence of the right to make decisions on their territories which protect the natural environment in a significant way.

This article was published in:

Renewal Update No. 53, October 27, 2021

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United Nations Climate Summit COP26 to Open in Glasgow, Scotland