#COP26Glasgow is in danger of drowning the UNFCCC in announcement blitz. These announcements may generate headlines but assessing their true worth is hugely difficult, especially at speed during a COP meeting. They are eye candy but the sugar rush they provide are empty calories
Boris Johnson has been criticised ‘for Government by press release’ and it now seems to extend to their management #COP26 with a blitz of announcements from the UK with pledges and alliances committing to various positive sounding initiatives
The UNFCCC is built on the principle of negotiated decisions which countries can scrutinise and be held accounted for. That is the real substance of the COP. But it’s clear that rich nations would rather make pre planned announcements and launch new schemes
Rather than get around the negotiating table with countries on the front line of the climate crisis & commit their decisions to enhanced NDCs or the delivery of the promised $100 billion by 2020 through a proper COP decision.
If these countries want to be taken seriously on their latest announcements, then they should first halt the new fossil fuel projects they are licensing at home, end fossil fuel subsidies and shift the fossil fuel financing to renewables
They should also include these new commitments in revised and updated NDCs, rather than dressing up empty promises as climate leadership
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