The Lima Climate Conference ended Sunday with what can be seen as a failure for environmental alarmist groups.
The 20th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-20) included 11,000 delegates from over 190 countries. This horde descended on Peru for two solid weeks to continue discussions on a climate treaty before the Paris conference next year and only came to a compromise after running 30 hours past the scheduled end time.
The goal of COP-20 was to remove obstacles in the path of a 2015 climate treaty.
The outcome fell far short of that goal.
Instead of the 196 countries pledging specific and verifiable reductions in emissions, all countries pledged to create a plan due in March, or June if they miss the first deadline, or never, since there is no agreed upon method of enforcement. This plan will outline each country’s own plan for emissions reductions after 2020. They have all agreed that within these plans there will be reductions in the use of oil, gas, and coal.
The environmentalist hope is that public peer pressure will convince each country to produce a plan that legitimately reduces their “carbon footprint.”
Will that happen?
Of course not; the writing is already on the wall.
The developing countries refused to allow the agreement to require “identical metrics for easy comparison.” It’s harder to “name and shame” countries into compliance if it’s difficult to compare contributions.
Reductions in carbon dioxide emissions will damage developing nations the worst—creating higher energy prices for people already too poor to barely feed themselves. Western countries are taking the blame for the current “catastrophe” (remember there has been no global warming in 18 years), because they used fossil fuels to rise out of poverty. Developing nations have to follow that path as well, if they want to pull their populations out of the cycle of hunger, disease, and death.
So why are the developing nations even coming to the table?
Bribery. Guilt money to be exact.
The Western countries are giving money to developing nations to “mitigate” the effects of climate change. Climate change for which we (the West) apparently hold the blame.
Yes, let’s blame us for using fossil fuels, let’s blame us for eradicating many diseases, for increased food production, for lifting millions out of poverty (and attempting to lift millions more), for thousands of advanced technologies that have benefited mankind, and the environment.
There has been no global warming in 18 years; increased CO2 levels have led to global greening, and extreme weather events are at record lows. Where is the catastrophe?
The catastrophe is in Western nations declaring an apocalypse, and demanding developing countries fall in line and destroy any hope their people have of rising out of abject poverty and hunger.
The catastrophe is in developing countries demanding “mitigation” money from developed countries, and those countries paying it.
Developed nations promised to transfer $100 billion a year by the year 2020 to developing nations. Although it is possible that amount won’t be reached in the next five years, “the UN estimates as much as $175bn has been transferred over the last two years to developing nations.”
$175 billion in two years!
The Lima conference was not a victory for climate alarmists; many of the things that derailed this conference were left to be worked out over the next year, or at the Paris conference. There is no way to enforce emissions reductions; they couldn’t even agree on goals for reductions. A number of alarmist groups even released a statement claiming, “What we have seen in Lima is another in a series of yearly decisions that weaken international climate rules, failing people and the planet.”
Was this the conference that would pave the way to the Paris Climate Treaty in 2015? No, thankfully not. The way is not clear to Paris, and it is incredibly unlikely that it will become clear. Instead of this continued farce of “saving the planet” that wastes time and money, it’s time to actually start attempting to save what is truly in danger—economic well-being and the people who die every year from lack of food and electricity.
Featured Image Courtesy of anankkml/Freedigitalphotos.net
