Disturbing analogy. — Shawn
Those two strengths go up against the equally powerful bulwarks of the status quo: vested interest and inertia.
The first, the fossil fuel lobby, has suffered damage in recent years: a global divestment campaign, for instance, has put $15tn in endowments and portfolios beyond its reach, and it builds little now without resistance. People increasingly see through the fossil fuel lobby’s attempts at greenwashing. But it maintains its hold on too many capitals – in the United States, the Republican party is its wholly owned subsidiary, which makes progress halting at best. And the planet’s financial superpowers – Chase, Citi, BlackRock and the rest – continue to lend and invest as if there was nothing wrong with an industry that is literally setting the Earth on fire.
As for inertia, it’s a deep obstacle, simply because the climate crisis is a timed test. Without swift change we will pass irrevocable tipping points: winning slowly on climate is simply another way of losing. Every huge forest fire, every hurricane strike, every month of drought heightens public demand for change – but every distraction weakens that demand. Covid could not have come at a worse time – indeed, it very nearly undid these talks for the second year in a row.
So, that’s the playbill. We have two big forces on each side of the drama, behemoths leaning against each other and looking for weakness to exploit. In the wings, old hands like John Kerry, the US climate envoy, push and probe; if the US Senate actually passes a serious climate plan before Glasgow, his power will increase like some video game character handed a magic sword. If the price of gas keeps rising in Europe, perhaps that weakens chances for a breakthrough.
We know which side will win in the end, because vested interest is slowly shifting towards the ever-larger renewable sector, and because inertia over time loses ground to the movements that keep growing. But we don’t know if that win will come in time to matter. Glasgow, in other words, is about pace: will it accelerate change, or will things stay on their same too-slow trajectory? Time will tell – it’s the most important variable by far.
Kinda like the "Free Beer Tomorrow" sign in the pub?I feel / fear that what 2030, 2050, or 2070... deadlines mean is that "We'll worry about it then. In the meantime, we'll wait and see how fast things get worse. — Bitter Crank
I think it's probably already "too late" to prevent eventual tropic zone catastrophe, only now it's just not yet obvious. — Michael Zwingli
I actually don't pay any attention to any of this shit because I already know what's going to get done...not a damn thing, until it's obviously too late. — Michael Zwingli
I wonder how the Earth will react. She seems to not calculate things like forgiveness, vengeance, etc. As William Muny said before shooting Little Bill in the face: "Deserves got nothing to do with it."
Anyway, if we ever did do the right thing before we had to, and before their was a monetary incentive to do it, we might look to the motivating factors from history and try that yesterday. — James Riley
I wonder if any studies have been done (sociology, history, poly sci?) that winnowed out those few (if any) cases where humanity saw a looming threat and decided to nip it in the bud? If such cases exist, what was the controlling factor that moved the needle toward action, over-and-above the kicking and screaming of those who championed doing nothing? Was it money? Leadership? Propaganda? Violence? — James Riley
You convince people into believing that the necessary transition wouldn't actually be a sacrifice for them, but a beneficial thing... which it probably would be to some extend. — ChatteringMonkey
I read somewhere there is no limit to what can be done if you give others credit for it. And something about letting people think it was there idea. However, I think those tactics are old, foreseen and undermined by interests that want to conserve (ative) the status quo — James Riley
Maybe smarter people than me can figure it out. — James Riley
So nearly nothing came out of COP26, as about expected, and we're almost certainly facing an unparalleled destruction in human history. In other words, this conference was a death knell. — Xtrix
Cynicism, writing it all off as hopeless, is just another way to abandon any hope of change. — Wayfarer
ship is sinking and it’s being purposely steered by those on top, those on the bottom are the only ones left to stop it-but we can’t and the capitalists have made sure we can’t. — Albero
Indians — I like sushi
A huge swathe of the population has fallen into poverty now due to lockdowns. Cheaper energy will help them get back on track. — I like sushi
There was at least an attempt. The Australian PM was obliged to stand up to a world audience and say climate change is something that has to be dealt with. — Wayfarer
With such a display of bold, fearless, undaunted courage, surely salvation is at hand! — Bitter Crank
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