How many extreme weather events are needed to convince world leaders to take their heads out of the sand? The IPCC formed in 1988 reported that humans were the dominant cause of global warming since the 1950s. Since then we have seen catastrophic flooding, wild fires and depletion of the Arctic ice cap.
The IPCC prompted the Paris climate agreement in 2015. In 2018 the IPCC issued a special report with a target to keep the rise in global warming to below 1.5 degrees Centigrade.
At the end of October, Glasgow is due to host the UN Global Change Conference. The 1.5 degrees target is not on track, so accelerated measures are needed. Click here for a link to the new aims.
You would think that with the focus on replacing the use of fossil fuels, the UK would put a stop to further oil exploration. But in Cambo, off the Shetland coast, there is a proposal to drill for oil. That proposal will have to be approved by the Oil and Gas Authority, but that body is an industry organisation, so turkeys will not be voting for Christmas.
That is the difficulty faced by many nations. When there is money to be made by multinational corporations from fossil fuels that is guaranteed now, why drop those prospects until forced to do so?
If the UK with the benefits of wind power and tidal energy cannot enforce the switch from fossil fuels , how can we expect nations to change their energy strategise if they do not have those opportunites?
odespinner 