COP28 Recap

Join the Climate Emergency Forum along with special guest Dan Galpern, as they provide mixed assessments of COP28, recognizing some positive developments but also highlighting areas where stronger action is needed, particularly in phasing out fossil fuels and addressing subsidies. The discussion emphasizes the importance of holding governments accountable for their climate commitments.
This video was recorded on December 18th, 2023, and published on December 23rd, 2023, and represents the opinions of the discussion participants.
Regina shares her observations about previous COPs and addresses some media portrayals of COP28 in Dubai. The discussion then turns to the outcomes of COP28, with Paul expressing both pros and cons. He mentions the extensive media coverage leading up to & during the COP, emphasizing the importance of raising public awareness about climate change.
Dan Galpern provides insights into the central question of COP28: addressing fossil fuel usage. He discusses the evolution of language in the global stocktake document, emphasizing the significance of commitments to phase out fossil fuels.
Dan expresses his astonishment at the bold and audacious attempts of major fossil fuel companies to influence the outcome of COP28 citing a specific incident.
Dan also notes the ironic and hazardous air quality in Dubai, attributing it to the proximity of oil refining activities, emphasizing the contradiction of hosting a climate conference in a city surrounded by toxic pollutants generated by the very processes the conference aims to address.
Peter adds his observations, expressing concerns about the COP28 president's background in the oil & gas industry and the lack of strong language regarding the phase-out of fossil fuels. He also criticizes the absence of a clear commitment to ending fossil fuel subsidies.
Charles notes the differences in venue layout. He also highlights the introduction of a faith pavilion, which saw significant success.
Heidi emphasizes the success of their engagement with youth delegates. Additionally, she highlights collaborations with organizations such as the Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge.
Links:
- Climate Protection & Restoration Initiative
cprclimate.org/
- Dr. James E. Hansen in Conversation with Paul Beckwith (CEF Video)
• Dr. James E. Hansen in...
- Global Stocktake (wikipedia)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_...
- United Nations Environment Programme
www.unep.org/
- Stockholm Environment Institute
www.sei.org/
- Fossil-Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative (wikipedia)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_...
- Global Carbon Project (wikipedia)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_...
- European Union Emissions Trading System
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europea...
- Global Warming of 1.5 °C
www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
- Ecosystem Restoration Communities Update (CEF Video)
• Ecosystem Restoration ...
- OPEC (wikipedia)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPEC
- OPEC: Declaration of Cooperation
www.opec.org/opec_web/en/publ...
- Breathless in Dubai (Blog post from Dan Galpern)
cprclimate.org/breathless-in-...
Special Guest:
Dan Galpern - is founder, executive director, & general counsel to Climate Protection & Restoration Initiative, a US nonprofit organization. He has served as legal and policy adviser to climate scientist Dr. James Hansen since 2011. Prior to the law, Dan worked for 20 years as a public interest analyst & advocate for human rights & global security.
Regular Panelists:
Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer & the director of the Climate Emergency Institute
Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the University of Ottawa's Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University
Regina Valdez - Program Director, Climate Reality Project, NYC. GreenFaith Fellow and LEED Green Associate
Video Production & Panelists:
Charles Gregoire - Electrical Engineer, Webmaster & IT prime for FacingFuture.Earth & the Climate Emergency Forum; Climate Reality Leader
Heidi Brault - Video production & web assistant, Organizer & convener, Metadata technician, COP28 team lead for the Climate Emergency Forum & COP Team organizer for Facing Future; BA (Psychology); Climate Reality Leader
Our Website:
climateemergencyforum.org/
Acknowledgement:
We'd like to acknowledge these two organizations without which our attendance at COP28 would not have been possible.
- Sustainable Population Australia (SPA)
- The International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE)
Attributions:
Background Music:
- Title: Through the City II
- Author: Crowander
- Source: Free Music Archive
- License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Image and Video: climateemergencyforum.org/ass...
#cop28

[@haroldluther2676]

Thank you for all your precious, accurate, and honest information. As always it is well done . Thank you for your continued and exhausting efforts

[@ClimateEmergencyForum]

You are so welcome

[@kenjohnson6101]

U.S. delegate: "... we are the most progressive of any fossil fuel producing nation." We are also the most fossil fuel producing of any fossil fuel producing nation.

[@DrSmooth2000]

Obama took credit for that after leaving office

[@nottenvironmental6208]

But Australian people release more emissions per person so the race to the bottom is on

[@BROWNDIRTWARRIOR]

A climate conference in Dubai is like the Federal Reserve holding a conference on socialism.

[@DrSmooth2000]

Libertarians say that is exactly the case today

[@achenarmyst2156]

Socialism largely failed in the economic arena, but capitalism is going to fail in the ecological realms.

[@vthilton]

Save Our Planet Now!!

[@treefrog3349]

I applaud your efforts to attend COP28, and I have no doubts about your sincerity. But there were also about 2500 lobbyists from the fossil fuel companies that ate all the ice cream they wanted!

[@snowjoe43]

God bless all of you. $$$ means more to the fossil fuel industry than life itself!!!

[@mamapretz]

I really appreciate this video, I learned a lot, thank you.

[@ClimateEmergencyForum]

You're very welcome!

[@mariusm5660]

I subscribed when you had 4000 subs. Very good and very important information you provide here. Thank you.

[@ClimateEmergencyForum]

You're welcome and thank-you.

[@cuana2]

Thank you all for having these discussions.

[@heidibrault1313]

Thank you so much for your support.

[@renatapeters3681]

Thanks for the summary. Really appreciate it

[@ClimateEmergencyForum]

Glad it was helpful!

[@michaelschiessl8357]

Thank you everyone for this update on COP28..Ironic how bad the air quality was in being unhealthy not just for sensitive people but for everyone..Almost like a day in NYC during the summer wildfires in Canada..Iam rather dismayed that C02 is atill climbing 1% every year and that the dependence on coal and fossil fuels will continue and not subside for at least another 20 or so years..The 1%ers and governments are dooming our future generations and they could care less..the planet will go on and eventually heal itself and we wont have anything to do with that..But will the human and animal species continue on? I highly doubt it..The time is coming to a close for our penguins and polar bears and we will only remember them in picture books and videos..Very sad indeed..Many thanks for covering this disaster of a climate conference and i see now why Paul didnt go!!

[@Patrick_Ross]

“20 or so years”? Your misplaced optimism is duly noted….and discarded.

[@christill]

One thing I found extremely strange was how they rewrote history to make it seem as if phasing out fossil fuels was talked about for the first time ever. But didn’t Alok Sharma cry about the fact that he was forced to change phasing out to phasing down fossil fuel use on the final day in Glasgow two years ago? In general I agree with Paul about his Bonn / NYC idea. Or just cancel the whole thing and come up with a new process that only includes the scientists, activists and government representatives from global south nations. With the rest of the world forced to abide by whatever agreement they come up with. As long as the rich nations are present, and as long as consensus is required rather than a majority, nothing will ever change to be in line with the science in any way.

[@kayakMike1000]

What are you going to do, FORCE people to stop heating their homes? Use military to destroy power plants?

[@kayakMike1000]

Funny how you beat the consensus drum when you talk about your wrong science, but when the world leaders decide consensus is a good thing you decry it. News flash, the climate consensus is bullshit and these climate agreements just hurt undeveloped nations. You're the baddies...

[@xenocampanoli815]

I want to strongly disagree with some assertions here. This may seem subtle, but investment by corporate growth entities create growth. I think it would literally be better to NOT allow any investment stimulatio nof any kind, rather than allow stimulation to growth of "green eenrgy". Green stuff is best stimulated by promulgation of facts around what is going on, and knowledge about what the growth machine does. Less damaging investment will be made as social costs from knowledge are put on bad sources of energy, but allowing stimulation to growth will simply accelerate damage, and, likely our doom. The main problem IS the growth machine. There is good work on this. We should be pushing for community knowledge of the problem to create a foundation of fact based reaction to each problem step, without generating enemies on the part of the victims against those with the knowledge. Assenting to ANY investment outside what the growth-machine players do naturally is simply shooting ourselves in the foot.

[@ChucklesMcGurk]

"Rapidly phase out oil gas and coal", sure, at the expense of economic collapse, starvation, and poverty. I'm pretty sure the rich won't suffer.

[@jannicelockley8424]

Flying around the World to demand we don't...

[@caterthun4853]

COP.. Round and round for 28 years. No change.. For the fossil fuel lobby. It's the magic roundabout.

[@utube091116]

Maybe, at next CoP, they should add a Hopium bar or dispensarium, 'cos Faith alone...

[@nottenvironmental6208]

Our economy is primarily driven by taking directly from the environment without renewal but no value is allocated. System designed to collapse

[@anthonydavis3872]

Mitigating is not simply a matter of eliminating fossil fuel carbon. Mitigating with justice, fairness, and equity actually means decisions by the leading carbon users that will massively reduce the material well-being of their citizens, while boosting that of the most climate change vulnerable. The basis of generating wealth and growth, natural resources of all sorts, simply do not exist on the scale needed to sustain the existing material well of carbon users while raising to this level the material well-being of the others. Attempting such would require enormous courage of a sort not remotely evident. It would also be political suicide. So, a more achievable target might be pushing to end the billions in public subsidies currently given fossil fuel producers, and redirecting most of these 'savings' to relief for those most vulnerable to climate change impacts.

[@DrSmooth2000]

SAI is lifeline to Big Coal. Be sealing them in for Centuries as an industry vital as Grain. 🌾 Have to keep getting their life saving sulfur dioxide. Doesn't matter how inaccessible the final deposits in 2187 are... taxes will make it happen

[@amberazurescale5617]

In a world drowning in madness, during these days of contemplation, may all guardians of life find some comfort and serenity within! May we look forward to the times when aeons will have passed, life will bloom like an everlasting flame, and humanity will be but a sidenote in the eternal chronicles of universal creation. Merry christmas to you all!

[@ClimateEmergencyForum]

And Merry Xmas to you as well.

[@mrrecluse7002]

Yes, we need to be humble enough to accept, and hope, that our destiny may be to make room for a species much sweeter than what we have been able to offer, to this jewel of the solar system. There are billions of years left, on this planet, before the "Red Giant" begins to unfold. Time is no big deal. Each night I go to sleep, and wake up, I can see that time hardly matters, in the grand scheme of things. Creative destruction is what makes the Cosmos tick.

[@freeheeler09]

The term unabated is dishonest. It only refers to carbon capture, which is not even remotely viable given current technologies. COP 28 was a fossil fuel trade show, nothing more.

[@achenarmyst2156]

39:30 Activists should try everything to avoid flying to COP conferences. Kerosene dependent air traffic is one of the most damaging uses of fossil fuels you can imagine. Yes, it takes a lot more time and expenses to get there by ground traffic but that‘s what the climate transition is all about!

[@kayakMike1000]

Last I checkec, the increase in CO2 was _linear_ NOT exponential.

[@user-jy6wg8si1v]

Reducing the use of fossil fuels is inverse to bringing their equivalent in nuclear, deep geothermal, fusion on line. There is no utility to reducing carbon unless there is in place a non-carbon substitute

[@achenarmyst2156]

This is ridiculous. What sort of cult is this, to exclude reduction of energy use or increase of energy efficiency?

[@brentkn]

I think COP 29 should be in Taiwan since all eyes are on Taiwan at the moment and they are equally being threatened.

[@0MVR_0]

so then you are well aware that the united states threatens to bomb taiWan chip manufactures in the event that the island is occupied and the cold civil war ends.

[@thurstonhowellthetwelf3220]

The world's biggest emitter wouldn't like that..

[@timothyhume3741]

If you really really cared you would stay home and grow potatoes. This is all just a big sham scam you know it in your heart for sure. I am 75 now and do not own a car and have not driven for decades. I just wish you all would be truthful. No one especially vehicle owners will ever give up their cars jets or boats. It just will not happen You know it I know it the internal combustion engine is an addiction and addicts always find an excuse as to why they are not. Cheers

[@mrrecluse7002]

Self rightousness will get you nowhere, except in your imagination. Cheers.

[@dylanthomas12321]

I remember the Rio Summit in 1992, which led to these COPs a few years later. Bold pronouncements were made. Nothing was accomplished. And now we're having COPs hosted by OPEC. It's comical. I know many well-meaning people attend and even devote their professional lives to the issue of global warming, I applaud them, but what have they accomplished since 1992? Nothing. For 35 years GHGs have continued going up. That's the undeniable scorecard. Maybe all those serious about the issue should boycott next year's event. Organize protest events in cities around the world and let the coal, oil and gas producers (and their enablers) gather alone at COP. Maybe the irony and shame of it would be so great that the world would notice. Maybe not.

[@treefrog3349]

"To rapidly phase out fossil fuels". It is a beautiful and necessary idea, but an impossible one. As a microcosmic example, imagine that you phased them out in your own automobile. You would soon be walking! There is no viable combinations of energy sources to replace fossil fuels. And that is the conundrum. In an already over-populated world whose population is increasing, perpetual energy demand is too. Immense progress in solar and wind power still only represents about 4-5% of energy requirements. "Rock and a hard place"? I think so.

[@BombusMonticola]

I think most climate aware people know this ...that our modern civilization depends on the abundance of energy that fossil fuel is singularly capable of providing.in the amounts required to continue our standard of living. But it's a finite resource and coming to an end eventually anyway. Through emissions and breakdown of our ocean systems and climate the planets habitat is being severely degraded day by day. So the question is do we kill everything and everyone by continuing as we are or do we seek to phase it out and try to change our ways and allow some of life to continue ....or do we live as we are and head for extinction with increasing speed. No one said any solutions were simple. Far from it it's the most difficult and complex matter humanity will possibly face

[@0MVR_0]

actually, we can subsist with renewables if energy dedicated to industry that makes tons of useless christmas stockings is down away with. Residential energy demand is well within hydroelectric, wind, solar, and nuclear production

[@thurstonhowellthetwelf3220]

No 🧠er

[@kayakMike1000]

How accurate is this 1.5° C increase?

[@achenarmyst2156]

This is simply measuring at thousands of defined locations around the globe, so it‘s very accurate. It does not depend on complicated climate model computations.

[@radscorpion8]

They had sponge sidewalks at COP 28? Wow, I didn't know that haha. I understand you aren't elites and you save up money, but it still must have been quite the nice galmorous vacation if they have sponge sidewalks

[@aegaeon117]

What exactly is the plan to phase out fossil fuels? What do you plan to replace them with? There is no viable replacement and the majority of the world isn't being educated on the truth of what the predicament of climate change is so, what's the point of these meaningless gatherings?

[@achenarmyst2156]

There are scientific studies out that for industrialised countries replacement of 80% of FF by renewables are manageable, even 95% is possible. It‘s all a question of societal and political will to withstand the FF propaganda.

[@jazziejim]

Yeh sure, Regina, we know what happens in Cop 28 stays in COP 28:-)

[@drawyrral]

Faith? Really? We are doomed. Doomed.

[@ptegsotica5895]

preach!! (ya gotta laugh, but for the crying)

[@mrrecluse7002]

We waited, and procrastinated for far too long, for "faith" to have any meaning. Any, and all hopium, on this subject, pales in comparison to the fast evolving facts, which confront us each month of this unfolding disaster. And this is, of course, the tip of the iceberg, in this suddenly extremely threatening world we behold, with perils everywhere.

[@radscorpion8]

@@mrrecluse7002 i LOVE that hopium is part of the every day lexicon. I for one am filled with hopium and continue to be as long as geoengineering remains a possibility (space mirrors in particular)

[@carinwiseman4309]

Greta was right, just more blah, blah, blah. Nobody is doing anything substantial. COP is a joke.

[@radscorpion8]

Yeah but, you have to admit it is really easy to criticize, especially as a teenager who is essentially a professional protester. Its much harder to coordinate international political action, especially with China, India and Russia, one of which is in a war funded by oil money, and the other two of which still rely heavily on coal for their power. And not to mention that even if politicians were to go back to their home countries with radical new proposals, the citizens may reject them. People are extremely naive about what the politicians can do. Trudeau in Canada tried a carbon tax for example. It wasn't even fully implemented and he is already backpedaling because his poll numbers sank as a consequence. Its really not clear that the public is by and large on the side of green activists here. A lot of them simply don't get the urgency of the problem and refuse to change their lifestyles. And the greens are to some extent equally blinded by hopium, thinking that everyone will agree to a massive carbon tax. The whole human race is basically acting irrationally. Meanwhile real solutions like geoengineering, are considered "too dangerous" by most climate scientists (as opposed to our current path which will drive us to extinction) while the IPCC underreports the severity of the problem and pretends that 1.5 C is still attainable when Hansen and others have clearly proven that this is no longer physically possible.