POLITICAL REALTY

Bianca Jagger participating in a demonstration during the United Nations climate
change conference in Poznan, Poland

"The politicians just don't seem to get the seriousness of the global warming crisis. Scientists attending the recent UN climate conference in Poznan, Poland, complained that the gap between political rhetoric and scientific reality on climate change is growing."It doesn't matter what the politicians promise," said French climate scientist Phillipe Ciasis. "Even if we stop emissions growing today, the world will still warm by 2 °C - a lot more in some places. It is too late to prevent that." Ciais was at Poznan to present the latest findings of the Global Carbon Project, a network of scientists that monitors how humans are influencing the natural carbon cycle. While politicians boast of their progress in cutting CO2 emissions, in the real world the gas is actually accumulating at an accelerating rate. Emissions have risen 28% already this decade, compared with 9% for the whole of the 1990s, said Ciais." (New Scientist, 20 December)
This is another example of politicians making sympathetic noises about the environment but in practice to cut emmissions may put them at a disadvantage against their international competitors. If they put themselves at a disadvantage in the quest for profits you can be sure the environment will not be a factor they will consider. RD