I really do want to believe that the Paris climate change agreement will have a real impact on the world. I have children. I have to believe it will.
But I have also to be cynical about the motives of many who may have signed but did so with their gingers firmly crossed behind their banks. So I note the FT reporting:
Amber Rudd, the UK energy and climate change secretary, described the 1.5C goal as merely “aspirational” while defending the UK government's decision last month to scrap £1bn in funding for carbon capture systems that could hold emissions down. “I don't think it was a mistake,” she said. “They are still expensive.”
There was a great deal else about the dismantling of UK's sustainable energy policy that the FT could also have mentioned.
Paris could be a game changer.
It could also just be a PR exercise.
For those with green concerns - and as an author of the Green New Deal I am one of those who have - Paris is in reality just a useful event to be used to remind politicians of their obligations. The focus on the day to day demand for change has to continue.
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No doubt you’ll have read the reaction from James Hansen, Richard. But I though George Monbiot’s reaction was probably the most accurate:
‘By comparison to what it could have been, it’s a miracle. By comparison to what it should have been, it’s a disaster.’
Insofar as our own government is concerned, let’s not beat about the bush. They may make great play about burdening future generations by not paying down the deficit, but they have absolutely no interest in doing anything on climate change, emissions (as we saw yesterday with the leaked paper supporting weaker limits on vehicle pollution) or anything else.
The so called “greenest government ever” claim is now shown to be as hollow as the promise not to reorganise the NHS. I hope somebody is keeping tabs on how many broken promises we have from the Tories. It must run into the dozens by now.
I agree with George!
And yes, the last would be interesting
I’d suggest PR and more Bovine Scatology.
From Yesterdays Guardian:
“The Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) has accepted that more than 50,000 people a year die prematurely as a result of air pollution in the UK. The figure includes about 29,000 deaths hastened by inhaling minute particles of oily, unburnt soot emitted by all petrol engines and an estimated 23,500 by the invisible but toxic gas NOx emitted by diesel engines.
According to ClientEarth, the British government’s position in October showed that despite the VW scandal, it was more concerned about protecting the motor industry than Britons’ health. ”
This is 40 years of politics being supine in the face of corporate interests – no political will to turn that one around.
Classic Guardian science: “oily, unburnt soot emitted by all petrol engines”. Diesels are far worse……closely followed by: “invisible but toxic gas NOx emitted by diesel engines”.
Quite.
You mandate that diesel engines produce less unburnt fuel, which they do by closely controlling the fuel injection, as a result the burn temperature goes up, and so do the NOx emissions. You then continue down the road of controlling the fine particulate emissions by introducing filters. Unfortunately these tend to get “clogged”, so they “burn off” the trapped particles…somewhere…
What has not [yet] hit the fan is that all engine controllers have subroutines operating which dump emissions control when a “non-urban” operating environment is detected (you have to burn that trapped particulate somewhere). And that there are many auto-workshops operating that “re-chip” engine management units to operate better, not necessarily cleaner though..volkswagen just went that bit too far, and the subs operated with an engine test routine detect..
And, the PM2.5 emissions are far from attributable (in whole) to car/truck/van/bus engines.
Face it, the world is not clean.
I have been to London many times. I have yet to come back excreting clean mucus from my lungs. Birmingham is far worse than London, from my experience, as far as respiratory problems are concerned. Oh, and the underground pollution in London is worse than overground..it’s just a different kind of pollution..loads of asbestos fibres for one…years of tube trains with asbestos brake linings…
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69635/pb13837-aqeg-fine-particle-matter-20121220.pdf
There is no hope for some Americans!
US town rejects solar panels amid fears they ‘suck up all the energy from the sun’
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-town-rejects-solar-panels-amid-fears-they-suck-up-all-the-energy-from-the-sun-a6771526.html
Amazing
Table 1 shows emissions of pollutants from 1970 >
Table 2 is more informative…
Then there’s air travel, of which more later.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/388195/Emissions_of_air_pollutants_statistical_release_2014.pdf
Don’t you just love the ingenuity of capitalism (and its nasty little brother communism) – after it has polluted all our free water it can sell us bottled water. And after its polluted all our free air, it can sell us bottled air.
China pollution: Canadian company Vitality Air sells out of bottled fresh mountain air as smog levels worsen
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-pollution-canadian-company-vitality-air-sells-out-of-bottled-fresh-mountain-air-as-smog-levels-a6773631.html