112. CLIMATE MEMO MONDAYS, #112, January 30, 2023
Failure of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change of March 1994.
“The framework convention on climate is dead. Now what?”
Luiz Marques. Mronline.org (1-18-23).
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change went into effect in March 1994. Yet, of the twenty-seven meetings that the UNFCCC has held to date, the most recent one, in Sharm-el-Sheik, Egypt [Nov. 2022], was the most inconsequential. (See OMNI’s anthology on COP27: December 4, 2022 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2022/12/omni-united-nations-conference-of.html)
SHORTEN DOERR AND LENGTHEN Hampshire Waugh with pub’s descrip
An Environmentalist Capitalist’s Plan.
John Doerr. Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now. November 9, 2021
Enjoy a great reading experience, with a $3.75 credit back to spend on your next Great on Kindle book when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories. View Kindle Edition
Publisher’s description:
With clear-eyed realism and an engineer’s precision, Doerr lays out the practical actions, global ambitions, and economic investments we need to avert climate catastrophe. Guided by real-world solutions, Speed & Scale features unprecedented, firsthand accounts from climate leaders such as Laurene Powell Jobs, Christiana Figueres, Al Gore, Mary Barra, John Kerry, and dozens of other intrepid policymakers, innovators, and scientists.
In Speed & Scale, Doerr presents a compelling 10-step plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050–the global goal we need to reach to ensure a livable Earth for generations to come. From electrifying our energy grid to fixing our global food supply chain to capturing carbon from the air, Speed & Scale contains practical solutions for policymakers and entrepreneurs alike.
As the world confronts an urgent climate crisis, Doerr reminds us that it is also the greatest economic opportunity of our lifetimes. Whether you’re a climate scientist or someone striving to make a difference in your local community, this book will help you to activate the sustainable solutions the world urgently needs.
Praise for Speed & Scale:
Praise
“If you care about climate change, John Doerr’s new book, Speed & Scale, offers concrete steps that we can all take to make a difference.” - Barack Obama
“Everybody should get Speed & Scale by John Doerr.” - Meryl Streep
“A practical guide for participation in decarbonizing the global economy, a task as challenging as it is urgent.” - Christiana Figueres
A Partial Prevention of the Worst: STOP SUBSIDIES
Corporate/Government Corruption: Subsidies
George Monbiot. “Protection Racket.” The Guardian. 30th November 2022. Posted on 6th December, 2022. https://www.monbiot.com/2022/12/06/protection-racket/
The more destructive the business, the more likely it is to enjoy political protection.
In every conflict over the living world, something is being protected. And most of the time, it’s the wrong thing.
The world’s most destructive industries are fiercely protected by governments. The three sectors that appear to be most responsible for the collapse of ecosystems and erasure of wildlife are fossil fuels, fisheries, and farming. In 2021, governments directly subsidised oil and gas production to the tune of $64bn (£53bn), and spent a further $531bn (£443bn) on keeping fossil fuel prices low. The latest figures for fisheries, from 2018, suggest that global subsidies for the sector amount to $35bn a year, over 80% of which go to large-scale industrial fishing. Most are paid to “enhance capacity”: in other words to help the industry, as marine ecosystems collapse, catch more fish.
Every year, governments spend $500bn on farm subsidies, the great majority of which pay no regard to environmental protection. Even the payments that claim to do so often inflict more harm than good. MORE https://www.monbiot.com/2022/12/06/protection-racket/
ANOTHER PARTIAL REMEDY: VEGANISM
COP27: Sharm al Sheikh, Egypt 2022.
“PETA’s Lettuce Lady Calls Out COP27.”
PETA’s Lettuce Lady “pointed out that animal agriculture produces nearly one-fifth of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions and reminded the attendees that according to the UN’s own recommendations, we must go veganto avoid the worst effects of the climate catastrophe.”