Forty heads of state and government and dozens of other leaders of institutions gathered (virtually) today to sing the praises of Joe Biden ("Joe” to many of them) for “bringing America back,” as most of them said — perhaps best expressed by the Britain’s Alok Shama, appointed full-time President of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference planned for Nov. 1-12 in Glasgow: “We welcome America back into the fold,” clearly meaning the Malthusian death cult known as the British Empire and its Paris Agreement. The meeting was chaired by climate fanatics Joe Biden, Antony Blinken and John Kerry.
There was a sharp distinction between the presentations of the leaders of the Western world, and those of Russia, China, Mexico, South Africa, and some (but only some) other leaders from the Global South. While Biden, Macron, Merkel, Trudeau, Draghi, et al. described the so-called “climate crisis” as the greatest existential crisis facing mankind today, they emphasized that all countries must join in the suicide pact of eliminating fossil fuels and shutting down major portions of industry and agriculture to save Mother Earth from the non-existent danger of carbon dioxide.
But the West no longer can dictate to the nations still guided by reason, rather than by Chicken Little’s screaming that the sky is falling.
Xi Jinping spoke poetically about the harmony and balance between man and nature, but added that it must follow a “people-centered approach,” focusing on those “longing for a better life.” We must follow the UN-centered multi-nationalism (i.e., not the artificial “rules-based order” made up by the imperialist powers). Most importantly, he and many others emphasized the “common but differentiated responsibilities” between the advanced sector and the developing sector, insisting that the concerns of the developing countries must be accommodated. It is of note that climate czar John Kerry, speaking today, called on China to give up its intention to allow coal-fired energy production to “peak” only in the 2030s. Xi did not obey, stating that they would continue producing coal-fired plants, as presented in the 14th Five Year Plan. That plan made clear that moving beyond coal depends on expanding nuclear and fusion power.
Vladimir Putin also insisted on UN-centered policies. He explained that Russia had reduced
carbon emissions by half since the 1990s (like China, Russia has a serious real pollution problem, which they are resolving, with the side-effect of reducing carbon emissions). He said Russia is restructuring its energy and industrial sectors, focusing on nuclear power (he reminded the world that there are no carbon emissions from nuclear), as well as petro-gas and hydrogen. He observed that Russia’s ecosystem absorbs 2.5 billion tons of CO2 per year. He closed by insisting that global development must “not only be green, but also sustainable,” by fighting poverty and closing the gap between rich and poor. Nary a word about solar or wind.
