I wanted to at least give James the courtesy of COP26 ending before I start shitting on it but if Greta won’t wait why should I?
It’s not James Shaws’s fault that the rest of the planet is still only paying lip service to the adaptation required to mitigate against the enormous threat global warming poses, so it would be unfair to blame him but the sophistry of NZs position to do the least possible while pretending we are manifesting something meaningful feels like James taking our cow to market and returning with 3 magic beans.
We are all like, ‘James, where’s the cow’, and James excitedly tells us he’s got these 3 magic beans and we all punch James.
COP26 has been a failure, if this was our last chance, then we have failed. The political spectrum can’t operate when the wealthy polluters own the capitalist system exacerbating the problem.
Radical isolationism & extreme nationalism will be the only responses left.
Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.
If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media
Spot 100% on! Especially consumers have to recycle, compost, go vegan, but crickets on 71% of global emissions are just from 100 companies!
Lets spend 20 years worrying and researching cow farts and billions on recycling (which somehow only manages 5% recycling from private firms in NZ at great costs to the public), while the 100 biggest polluters keep accelerating their behaviour and making more money, buying up and influencing the green industries with all their dirty profits, have zero accountability, don’t have to pay for their own carbon credits due to the government (taxpayers) volunteering to pay for their carbon pollution and spin.
Much of NZ’s carbon emission came from 2 foreign owned companies. Rio Tinto and Methanex.
As for the idea of green hydrogen for vehicles, it shows the gross lack of scientific information and analysis in NZ – and I guess the millennial generation aka James and Jacinda, haven’t a clue and it’s getting worse with NZ’s alarming decline in our children’s PISA scores especially science.
Kids are expected to delete themselves as they are not the right identity to have the right to protest here https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/06/school-strike-4-climate-auckland-disbands-for-being-racist-after-guidance-from-bipoc-community.html
Labour will be behind this pathetic response, nothing the Greens can do about it, up against the juggernauts of the main parties. Both Labour and the possible next Govt-Natz/ACT are hardcore neo liberals that means nothing will change. All main parties the world over while in power will allow more looting and polluting by business interests. Only glimmer of hope is the small climate friendly parties gaining more, lots more, support from the voters and knocking down the majority influence held by the main parties. This is in the voters hands.
Did you expect COP26 to be anything different. Putin and Xi told them to fuck off. The super rich saw it as an open invitation to virtue signal and otherwise every OECD country tried to manipulate the agreements to suit their own economies.
Can’t believe i’m saying this BUT Greta was spot on with her criticism.
Are most people aware that the vast majority of exported oil is sold in US dollars? The US has an extremely vested interest in oil sales. The petrodollar is the heart of the US financial system, and enables trillions of USD to be created out of nothing. Without it, they have no fall back system to support the USD’s value. About 79.5% of global payments involve the USD
Great to wax on about, “isn’t it sad isn’t it bad that no one is doing anything of note to actually change anything”. On that point Greta is right, “lots of huey no doey”
NZ Govts of all hues talk lots and do little. WHY?
Quite simply there is in fact little that they can do that the population as a whole will buy into.
OK so we are going to stop burning coal by 2030. Right that decision made, Huntly closes by 2030, where is the electricity to run Auckland going to come from?
Renewables they all scream, but renewables wind and solar while useful are not reliable and when peak consumer demand is on for heating, mid winter they fail. Look at Europe right now begging Putin for more gas because their wind and solar can’t meet the demand so the thermals have be fully cranked up again. For Europe Nuclear is now back to the top of the agenda. NZ with it’s “4 seasons in one day” can’t depend on renewables to meet the base electricity load for Auckland.
The reality must be keep burning coal at Huntly and start the conversation on Nuclear plant near Auckland to replace it by 2030.
Now on the cows, James wants to kill half the cows and plant trees. Fine, but given that right now the cows are they only sector of the export earning economy that is “firing” and paying our bills in world. Kill the cows where is the replacement income going to come from?
Right now there is no answer to that question, as a country we are committed to keeping the cows because we are dependent on them to maintain our standard of living. Full Stop!!!
So don’t hold your breath, nothing will happen, because the real hard decision, nuclear on not will not even be put on the table for discussion.
And the pertinent question becomes “will Auckland be happy with brown outs and even black outs in the winter when we stop burning coal?” we all know the answer is no – so we will keep burning coal at Huntly. again Full Stop!!
“Wind and solar while useful are not reliable”
– haven’t you heard of batteries?
They have been around for a while but climate deniers deny they exist.
Also you made your own point, aka when you look at the UK, fuel shortages looks like relying of foreign coal and oil isn’t a good idea, maybe the UK should have invested in their renewables sooner. They have enough rigs and expertise.
Like NZ, the UK is obsessed with Thatcherism, globalism and predatory neoliberalism,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/10/mysterious-factory-break-in-raises-suspicions-about-chinese-visit
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/08/britain-huawei-general-electric-company-thatcherism
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/apr/25/mod-privatise-military-housing-disaster-guy-hands
Sorry Save NZ you miss my point.
Which is if we are to stop burning coal / shut down Huntly by 2030, something serious and real needs to start happening next week to enable that to happen.
Now if you believe that we can build a battery sufficient to power Auckland on a cold windless August night then fine, then get on and build the battery!!
But like nuclear that won’t happen either!!
I am not suggesting that burning coal is good, but right now until we have actually built something to replace the electricity generated by coal at Huntly we are “stuck with burning coal at Huntly”
That was my point
And by the way we don’t need to import coal we have plenty here
My comment was about Europe not the UK which has a different set of issues to Europe. Europe, Germany in particular has invested in renewables and in last few weeks they have been found wanting for base electricity load.
And further I am not sure on your statement
” Like NZ, the UK is obsessed with Thatcherism, globalism and predatory neoliberalism”
How is that relevant to burning coal at Huntly?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FqXTCvDLeo
Nothing says commitment to the cause of saving the planet like flying in on
a private jet.
1.5degrees warming is already giving us significant shift in weather patterns and a noticeable increase in extreme weather events.
We are already locked in for a minimum of 4 degrees at least due to inertia.
The last lifeboat has left the Titanic.
Comments are closed.