Pirate's Cove

Cause, it’s for the kids or something

(Guardian) Australia, New Zealand and the heads of state of 13 other Pacific states this week called for the phase-out of greenhouse gas pollution and acknowledged current efforts to tackle climate change are insufficient.

The Majuro declaration for Climate Leadership is surprisingly strong considering these types of documents are usually intent on satisfying the least ambitious parties – Australia and New Zealand, in this case. But the text, adopted at the 44th Pacific Island Forum, appeals for urgent action, commits all signatories to be “climate leaders” and calls for an energy revolution.

I wouldn’t count on Australia being involved, since the Labor Party just lost power.

For me, two things stand out in particular.

First, the declaration explicitly recognises the need for a complete “phase down” of greenhouse gas emissions. Not “x% emissions by date y” – the sort of language that is important from a scientific perspective but has little meaning for the general public. The idea of a phase down makes clear that in the long run we need to eliminate greenhouse gas pollution altogether.

Which means we have to immediately abandon all uses of fossil fuels…say, how will the people get home from the conference, held in the Marshall Islands? Anyhow, the author, Kelly Riggs, says we have to do away with all fossil fuels use and investment to stop evil greenhouse gas pollution

I’ve been in Majuro throughout the forum proceedings, and have explored the streets, spoken to residents and walked the eroding beaches myself. It was a powerful experience to see what it means to live on the front lines of climate change.

She goes on to note how an island could be disappearing into the sea, which apparently never happened, and I blame her for it, unless she swam there. But, unfortunately for her talking points, sea rise in the Marshall Islands is barely existent.