Recently, the late night news programmes on both main TV channels had features about COP21. These both drew heavily on what Christiana Figueres, the UN climate chief, has been saying.
Noting that 155 countries have already put forward detailed plans covering 88% of global CO2 emissions, and others are expected to join before the deadline expires, Figueres, was also quoted in the Telegraph:
“It is unstoppable. No amount of lobbying at this point is going to change the direction."
Figueres said that, whilst such national pledges are not enough to limit the global temperature rise to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels (by 2100), the Paris accord does promise to "bend the trajectory" to a 2.7 degree increase. “We think most countries will be able to over-achieve,” she said, and Paris will be followed by a series of deals that brings the ultimate target within sight.
The Telegraph has this baffling graph that shows all the optimism.
So, there we have it: COP21 is already a success, and no one has even got to Paris yet.
My worry is not about the COP (as I knew it was going to be successful because it just had to be, and people who should know better are already talking about it in those terms), but about what people learned from watching the TV news. My guess is that those who were paying attention learned that there was no longer any need to worry – or pay further attention.
Dear me!
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