November 10, 2017 by David Wojick, Ph.D.
The 2-day, science intensive Climate and Energy Conference sponsored by CFACT and EIKE stands in wonderful contrast to the glib, quick hit side events that surround the Bonn COP. There is no science in the COP shop talks. It is all about money and how to get it faster by accelerating the Paris Plan. Or it is about how things are not going fast enough.
Mind you that though this is carefully cloaked in save-the-world rhetoric, these actions all carry a hefty price. Developing countries are waiting to get paid by the developed countries, especially the US. Somebody always gets the money, so the more salvation costs the better. Calls for action are calls for money.
Below are twenty examples of COP 23 side events that stand in stark contrast to the CFACT Climate and Energy Conference. There are many more.
1. Climate-Related Financial Risks and Opportunities – Moving from Talk to Action.
2. Financing for a Low-Carbon Agri-food Sector in Cambodia.
3. Bright Future: The Value of Electricity for a Decarbonised Economy and Transport Sector.
4. Climate Action in the Global South: Strengthening Non-state Capacity for NDC and SDG Implementation. [NDCs and SDGs are national Paris Plan goals.]
5. Mainstreaming the Paris Agreement in the Financial Sector.
6. Creating Markets for Climate Business.
7. Policy and finance to achieve transformation.
8. Ships, Planes and Paris: Clearly navigating to 1.5C [the Paris Plan global warming target].
9. Carbon Pricing.
10. Integrated Observations for Mitigation and Adaptation & Practical Support to Parties.
11. Slow Onset Impacts, Fast Action: Multisectoral Responses to Climate Change.
12. Five Years of Experiences Gained from the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM): Lessons Learned and Way Forward.
13. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Developments Towards a 1.5 World.
14. Building Capacity of Tackling Regional Climate and Sustainable Challenges.
15. The Global Platform for the New York Declaration on Forests and the Bonn Challenge: From Commitments to Action.
16. Measuring Progress on Climate Adaptation and Resilience: From Concepts to Practical Applications.
17. Enhancement Options, Participatory Processes, and Rapid Implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
18. Pacific Islands Inspiring Leadership in Renewable Energy.
19. Catalyzing Climate Action, Realizing the SDGs: Science, Interconnections and Implementation.
20. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) Implementation in Small Island Developing States (SIDS): Linking Mitigation and Adaptation Efforts for Sustainable Development.
It is almost a chant: We want more. We want it faster. We want more. We want it faster.
Action = money.
