Unless China and India Step Up, Everyone Still Has a Climate Problem
China emits more carbon than anyone, and India is clearing forests to mine more coal. Meanwhile, the Artic melts.
Everyone made a fuss about COP26, so I (being a contrarian) naturally wanted to ignore it, but a nagging doubt made me pay attention.
Was it just another talking shop, typical of the United Nations, or was it about something that would affect people’s lives?
I really wanted to believe it was a talking shop.
COP26, however, was about the nations of the world keeping promises to say what they’re going to do to get the planet’s temperature back under control. It was supposed to be done by 2012.
In Paris in 2015, everyone promised plans by 2020 to reduce carbon emissions by the middle of the century. Covid-19 put paid to that, so there they were in Glasgow, in 2021 supposedly ready to have their homework marked.
The bad news is that the leader of the biggest carbon emission addict didn’t turn up. Neither did Russia’s leader, who’s into natural gas in a big way. India, the world’s largest democracy, is clearing forests to mine coal.
