No More Promises, Please

 

"It was truly a transformative, joyful moment. People were literally weeping with joy in the hallways, people from around the world embracing," said Rachel Cleetus, policy director for climate and energy at the US-based advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists, who was in Paris at the time. "It was such a moment of recognition that countries can indeed rise above their narrow self-interest and work for the global common good." 

 However, Cleetus tells us, "Back in 2015 there was a lot of hope that this would be a real turning point, but we have certainly fallen short of sharply bending that global emissions curve. And meanwhile, we're watching climate impacts unfold around us in terrifying ways." 

Cleetus concludes, "Clearly, we have not lived up to the promise of Paris." 

Cleetus stressed that the international community still has a long way to go in supporting mitigation and adaptation efforts in those parts of the world struggling with the devastating effects of climate change.

"The reality is that these impacts are getting worse by the day, and the United States and other rich countries have refused to acknowledge the loss and damage that they are inflicting on the rest of the world," said Cleetus. "This remains one of the biggest pieces of injustice in the global negotiations that has not been appropriately dealt with yet."

The situation has only worsened in the past year with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the setbacks of political inaction and the ongoing pandemic, Cleetus said, "What we need to see in the lead-up to COP26 in Glasgow next year is a coalition of major emitting nations, including the US, the EU, China and others, willing to put very ambitious commitments on the table in terms of emission reductions, and willing to implement the policies back home. It's just that simple."

But what is even simpler to understand is that with an economic system where the priority of profits and capital accumulation are more important than people, despite lip-service legislation and cosmetic reforms, the basis on how society runs must be challenged and changed. 

In Glasgow, in 2021, at COP26, the local branches of the Socialist Party alongside members from other parts of the UK will be on the streets campaigning for a sustainable cooperative world commonwealth.