The Road Away from Fossil Fuels

Details: Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00; Written by editor

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A Socialist Project e-bulletin ... No. 1672 ... September 23, 2018
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The Road Away from Fossil Fuels

Simon Pirani

President Andrzej Duda’s authoritarian government can expect a rough political ride in December, when politicians, diplomats and campaigners stream into Katowice, Poland, for the next UN summit on climate change (COP24).

Poland’s so-called climate policy -- to aim for "carbon neutrality" by discounting emissions from the coal industry with carbon sucked up by its forests -- will face richly-deserved criticism. How loudly that will be heard on the streets is a different matter: Poland’s parliament has banned "spontaneous" gatherings in Katowice during the summit.

Donald Trump, who last year withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Paris agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, will also be the target of derision, not only from demonstrators but from... some politicians inside the talks. The main business at Katowice (the 24th conference of parties to the 1992 Rio climate convention, or COP24) will be to finalize a "rulebook" to monitor government promises to cut greenhouse gas emissions ("nationally determined contributions" or NDCs) made in Paris.