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Climate Change Diplomacy Has an Authoritarianism Problem

Climate change is here to stay: heat waves, flooding, and wildfires have become noticeably more frequent and severe. After years of inaction and despite decades of advanced notice by scientists, there is no longer a possibility of preventing additional changes from occurring. Scientists predict that enough greenhouse gases are already trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere to guarantee that the impacts of climate change will continue to worsen over the coming decades. When international climate negotiators gather for their next summit in Egypt in November, the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), they will try to avert the most catastrophic scenarios and mobilize enough resources to help vulnerable populations adapt to the already inevitable impacts. Achieving these worthy goals, already behind schedule, will require unprecedented global cooperation in the near term.

Democratic and authoritarian regimes alike have much at stake and have participated actively in international climate negotiations. But it is becoming increasingly clear that authoritarian regimes are using their seat at the table to greenwash their reputational standing in the global community, potentially undermining the climate change commitments that will be announced at COP27.

Huh. That’s an interesting way to put it. Because the whole scam is based on authoritarianism. One simple definition says “the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom.” This is by a centralized government, and requires the suppression of Wrongthink and forcing citizens to do what they’re told. And you have plenty if Useful Idiot cultists who have been indoctrinated to believe they should give up their liberty and freedom

Vietnam is an emblematic example. For years, the government has imprisoned political dissidents but sent clear signals that people could speak up on a number of environmental issues. The open civic space around environmental issues yielded positive results — Vietnamese civil society worked closely with the government to adopt ambitious climate change goals that paved the way for the country to potentially receive billions of dollars in financing from the G7 during COP27.

Civil society organizations worked for over a decade to educate the Vietnamese public about the harm climate change will cause to rice production in the Mekong River Delta and other core parts of the economy. They also worked closely with the government on its commitment to phase out coal by 2040 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050, which the government announced at last year’s climate summit to widespread international acclaim.

Just a few months before announcing its 2040 and 2050 climate goals, the Vietnamese government began to close the door for civil society participation in environmental issues. In June 2021, police arrested the country’s top public interest environmental lawyer, Dang Ding Bach, and two other climate advocates. Bach’s arrest and detention are notable in that he was charged ostensibly with tax evasion yet investigated by a national security agency and detained before any charges were filed. He has been held largely incommunicado ever since. Bach was repeatedly refused access to his lawyer, unable to see his wife, and unable to spend time with his infant son, who was born two weeks before his arrest. Earlier this year, he was sentenced to five years in prison, a punishment far beyond the typical sentences in Vietnam for tax evasion and the three years requested by the State prosecutor. Despite this harsh and unprecedented sentence, Bach has maintained his innocence.

Let’s be honest, getting people to adhere to “green” policies and politics reinforces putting more power in the hands of government. Anyhow, despite the U.S., EU, and UN whining to Vietnam

But during the same period, the United States, UK, and EU governments rushed to secure climate deals with the Vietnamese government in the run-up to COP27. In September, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi published a statement about the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry’s visit to Vietnam, announcing several new climate change initiatives and investments that made no mention of the very same civil society members detained in Vietnam who worked for over a decade to lay the groundwork for these deals.

Remember when Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, said she wasn’t worried about the human rights abuses in China, she was just worried about getting some climate deals? John Kerry has taken the same position.

Yet even when the human rights violations are crystal clear, the international community has not always been sure how to respond. In 2021, several media outlets reported that China was trying to use climate change diplomacy to weaken U.S. pressure on its human rights record, especially after the U.S. government placed sanctions on China’s solar industry for its links to forced labor of Uyghur people. U.S. government agencies reportedly struggled internally when China’s actions created confusion between offices charged with reducing global greenhouse gas emissions versus those focused on stopping genocide, leading to allegations that senior Biden administration officials were lobbying against the forced labor protections.

The climate cult leaders are less concerned about human rights abuses, because Doing Something about Hotcoldwetdry is more important, and they know what’s best for the little people. And know that, at best, they will have to apply soft tyranny to push through their agenda. It’s a very long piece, ending with

The United States, UK, and EU need to collaborate with authoritarian regimes, but a successful global response to climate change also depends on civic participation. It is important to remember that the ultimate goal of international climate negotiations is to provide current and future generations with the opportunity to live safe, healthy, prosperous, and dignified lives. That’s also the goal of the human rights movement.

Interestingly, words like freedom and liberty are absent.

Read: Surprise: Climate Crisis (scam) Diplomacy Has An Authoritarian Problem »