Sand in the Gears in Glasgow

Albert Bates
6 min readNov 11, 2021

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There are a number of bad actors making the rounds of meetings at the climate summit.

Calling for a coal phase-out and a global end to fossil fuel subsidies are entirely practical goals. In fact, in two reports this year, Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector, and the World Energy Outlook 2021, the fossil trade organization disguised as an intergovernmental agency, the International Energy Agency, said the whole world could feasibly go to zero emissions in the energy sector by 2050. The IEA said solar and wind could provide more than 70% of all energy used and the other 30% could be made up by tripling energy efficiency across all economic sectors; ie: using less.

There is still some sand in the gears. This COP has not yet concluded or made any final determination for setting carbon pricing and verifying the markets, ending investment in new fossil infrastructure by 2025, ending fossil subsidies, or aiding underdeveloping countries to make a just transition. There are a number of bad actors making the rounds of meetings in Glasgow with the express intention of prolonging fossil hegemony for as long as they can.

One expects that sort of sand from the deserts of the Middle East but you would think countries like Australia and Mexico have gotten religion on climate change by now. Apparently not. Australia has no plans to reduce…

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Albert Bates
Albert Bates

Written by Albert Bates

Emergency Planetary Technician and Climate Science Wonk — using naturopathic remedies to recover the Holocene without geoengineering or ponzinomics.

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