Was COP 29 another cop-out?

Picture credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA).

John writes …
 
Well, COP 29 has finished. Did it achieve anything? Here are two reactions to the conference. The first is a brief commentary, written by me for our church on-line newsletter, while the conference was still in progress:

Who is my neighbour?

Picture credit: Source unknown.

I was reading a passage in Chapter 2 of Habakuk and was stopped in my tracks by the beginning of verse 8: 'Because you have plundered many nations …'. It is set in a passage about injustice, exploitation and institutional theft but my mind immediately turned to climate change (1). Climate change has been caused by the emissions of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, mostly in the richer industrialised nations in support of lifestyle, industry, commerce, and warfare. However, the majority of the countries most affected are amongst the poorer nations of the world (although I acknowledge the effects of recent extreme weather events in Europe and the USA). As I have written elsewhere (2), if we factor in a country’s ability to deal with climate change along with the severity of the effects, nine of the ten worst-off countries are in Africa. This may not be direct ‘plunder’ but it certainly says something about inequality and global justice. It is no surprise that at COP 29, there have been demands from poorer countries for financial help to deal with climate change – something which I believe we should support in whatever way is possible for us.

The second is a Podcast, made by Chatham House (an independent international affairs think tank), towards the end of the conference while negotiations were still in full swing – to listen to podcast, click on this link:
https://www.chathamhouse.org/.../independent-thinking-has...

My final comment, now that the conference has finished, is four-fold.
 
First, the amount agreed for payment to poorer countries is somewhat of a compromise
 
Secondly, despite pressure from oil-rich nations, it is clear that we are making progress towards renewable energy sources and away from fossil fuels.
 
Thirdly however, that progress is not fast enough. We are still heading for a temperature increase of at least 2 degrees, with possibly disastrous effects on tipping points.
 
Fourthly, if you are a praying person, please pray about this
 
John Bryant
 
Topsham, Devon
November 2024
 
 
(1) I was pleased to see that a recent commentator on this passage, Revd. Amanda Bloor, reacted in a similar way.
 
(2) Introduction to Bioethics, 2nd Edition, Wiley, 2019.