COP28 Makes the Climate Crisis Worse

Dec 11, 2023

In November, the earth’s average temperature reached a new high. Two weeks after that, more than 200 scientists reported that we are clearly headed toward a tipping point, beyond which changes to the earth’s climate would be irreversible.

The steady increase in the earth’s temperature has already been causing more, and more severe, storms, heat waves and wildfires—killing thousands of people, and turning millions of people into refugees, around the globe.

So, in a rational world, the ongoing COP28 climate conference, attended by representatives of practically every government, would represent a precious opportunity to organize immediate action against rising temperatures—to find ways to reduce the use of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal), for example, the burning of which causes the earth’s temperature to rise.

But, no—not in this world run by capitalists. At COP28, as at previous climate conferences every year, governments kept arguing about things like whether to call for a “phase-out” or a “phase-down” of fossil fuels—or even about what those phrases are supposed to mean!

But outside of those useless meetings, 2,400 fossil-fuel lobbyists also attended COP28—four times as many as those registered at last year’s conference. They were there to cut lucrative deals for oil companies, guaranteeing more burning of fossil fuels, and more warming of the earth.

But what else could be expected from a climate conference that is held in one of the top oil-producing countries in the world, the United Arab Emirates, presided over by the head of the UAE’s state-owned oil company?

It’s like making an arsonist fire chief. It’s no wonder that, over the 28 years since these climate conferences began, the earth’s temperature has only continued to increase, leading to more, and bigger, human catastrophes.