COP-Out in Katowice

Same COP procedure as every year

Each year since 1995, the nations of the world have gathered to try to reach a global agreement on carbon dioxide emissions. These ‘Conferences of the Parties’, or COPs as they are usually termed, involve all of the members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and take place towards the end of the year. Back in 2015, we at the Global Warming Policy Forum were much amused to observe that the headlines that emerged from the COPs each year had developed a certain similarity. We noted also that some people even reckoned that we were seeing less and less meaningful activity each year, and more and more liturgy and ritual. This year saw the annual jamboree of the global climate establishment congregate at the twenty-fourth COP in Katowice. So, three years on, have we seen any new themes emerging, or has the liturgy had its familiar order: hype, hope and hysteria? Let’s take a look. . .

The Climate Carousel

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