As time has gone by, the credibility of the United Nations’ climate conferences has worn increasingly thin. At COP27, held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, most environmental campaigners were shut out, while behind closed doors the world leaders, in whose hands our futures lie, were ‘schmoozed’ by fossil fuel lobbyists.

This year, COP28 is being held in UAE, one of the top ten oil producers in the world, whose per capita emissions are among the highest in the world (and they continue to increase). The president of COP28 is Sultan Al-Jaber, who also happens to be the Chief Exec of ADNOC – the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. It’s been reported on some media channels that Al-Jaber has been using meetings within COP28 to negotiate deals for his company; something he has denied (but then, he would, wouldn’t he?) Does anyone remember the character of Jabba the Hutt, from the Star Wars films? (now, why on earth would I think there might be a similarity; apart from the name?)

Early in the conference, Jabba the H… oops, I mean Al-Jaber, said that there was “no science” behind the idea of ending the use of fossil fuels to limit global temperature rises. It’s been estimated that more than 2000 of the participants at COP28 are delegates of fossil fuel organisations, and it’s been suggested that what should be a conference to work out and implement the changes needed to avoid catastrophic climate crisis, has in fact become nothing short of a trade show for the oil and gas industry.

The lunatics have indeed taken over the asylum. Or maybe I’m being naive – have they perhaps been in charge, in the background, all along? In the unlikely event that I ever find myself addressing a COP, what I’d say is essentially this..
It wasn’t me officer; I didn’t do it…‘
Oh no, wrong sort of Cop. What would I say to that large crowd of unrepentant planet wreckers that have turned an environmentalist concern into an oil industry circus? Well, I don’t have any children, and looking at the state of human societies across the world, together with the likely fate of the environment, that increasingly seems like a wise choice. So what I’d actually say, is this:

‘It’s your own children you’re killing.’

text & image copyright Graham Wright 2023