Climate summit in United Arab Emirates (or is it really an oil lobby)

Keskiviikko 29.11.2023 klo 17.43 - Mikko Nikinmaa

News is dreary. First, it is estimated that climate change already causes more than 6 % decrease in global GNP. No wonder, as climate-related phenomena have diminished crops, caused wildfires and flooding, etc. Many insurance companies have incredibly high fees for house insurance policies in areas, where the likelihood of storms has increased radically in recent past. And GNP (Gross National Product) does not take the environment into account. The indexes which do this had their highest values in rich countries in 1990’s. Also, coal and oil pollution cause millions of deaths yearly, many more than the Covid pandemic. So, climate change is here, and decreases the quality of life more than any other single event.

Although wind and solar energy production has increased markedly during recent past so that clearly more than half of the new global electricity production is fossil-free, about 60 % of world’s energy consumption is still dependent on oil and coal. And, actually, the amount of energy produced using fossil fuels is still increasing although its percentage is decreasing. This apparent contradiction is due to the fact that the global energy consumption still increases markedly.

The above notions should be important to take into account now that world leaders again gather to Climate Summit, this time in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Already the place of the meeting generates suspicion, as UAE has gained its wealth with oil, and continues to do so. Further, the Persian Gulf nations are known for sports washing – World Cup of Soccer in Quatar, Incredible transfer fees of footballers in Saudi Arabia, the number of Kenian athletes now competing under Quatar flag. One can suspect that the Climate Summit is the start of climate washing with oil lobby doing its best to decrease climate actions. This conclusion has become quite credible after a document has leaked, which advises the UEC delegation to lobby oil and gas exports. Further, the president of the summit is also the head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and has suggested an approach, where renewable energy sources complement rather than replace oil.

Is this the way to combat climate change, which already causes significant damage?

Healthy environment is needed for functioning economy

Perjantai 9.3.2018 klo 16.42 - Mikko Nikinmaa

To be sustainable, any economic theory needs to take into account the limits set to economies by the global environment. Otherwise any economic actions are just very hard-repayed loan from future generations. As the two worst alternatives are either that a small proportion of mankind can leave this planet, when it becomes uninhabitable, to continue the wasteful way of living in another planet until that is also spoiled or that most people dye and a small proportion continues to live in the spoiled environment.

To avoid these worst-case scenarios, one should actually give the Nobel price in Economics in continuation to economic theories that strive to reconcile economics and environment, as suggested by Ripple at el. in “The Role of Scientists’ Warning in Shifting Policy from Growth to Conservation Economy”, which can in full be viewed at https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biy009

"Most helpful for this paradigm shift, both symbolically and pragmatically, would be for the scientist members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to insist that its Economic Sciences Prize Committee give greater weight to awarding prizes for economic theory that accounts for environment–economy interlinkages and feedback loops. If Nobel memorial prizes in economics were given to those drawing attention to economic drivers of environmental degradation and the well-being implications of degraded ecosystems, it would draw attention to problems with mainstream economic theory as well as encourage other economists and natural scientists to collaborate and to do more work in this area."

Economy and environment are not opposite, but there cannot be a functioning economy without healthy environment in the long run.