Tuesday 7 May 2024

'Pledges' Are Vague, Whether They Come From Rich or Poorer Nations?

Cooperation between all nations, is needed to curtail global heating and reduce consequent climate change. This is difficult. Richer nations generally produce the 'lion's share' of 'greenhouse gases'. Poorer countries (who often aspire to be richer!), suffer the worst consequence of climate change. Cop 29 will apparently include a call for trillions of dollars of 'climate finance'. This would enable poorer nations to reduce (or leave undeveloped) their 'greenhouse gas' emissions. If it's not forth-coming, they will be tempted to increase uses of fossil fuels. Richer countries, however, are not keen to pay up. They suspect the honesty of poorer nations (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/06/poorer-nations-transparent-climate-spending-cop29-leader). The Presient of Cop 29 maintains that poorer nations need to show greater accountability and transparency in their dealings. Stronger 'pledges', he says, will increase the likelihood of the 'big players' finding finance from taxation and investments. The trouble is, however, that many political 'pledges' have been made on climate change. Pledges from rich and poor nations, have both proved unreliable. These 'pledges' are first to be dropped, when political pressures from voters/industry become apparent.

1 comment:

Paul Brain said...

As you may gather, the last thing I would trust would be a pledge from a politician!

What's In a Critter's Name? 86. Puffin

The Puffins get their name from their 'puff-ball' appearance.