2022: The year to leave the fossil fuels in the ground

Two things came from the Paris climate agreement in 2015. These two things were central again this year at COP26. The first: to keep the world’s increasing temperature under 1.5C until the end of the century. And the second: the signatories committing to becoming ‘Net Zero’ before certain dates.

‘Net Zero’ relates to carbon emissions – the main reason for global warming. To put it simply, Net Zero means that carbon emissions aren’t reaching the atmosphere. But there are various recommended ways to fulfill that aim.

The first method: the economy is decarbonised. In the second method, however, there are still carbon emissions, but they are controlled and they are processed before they escape into the atmosphere.

In the first instance – decarbonisation – this means leaving fossil fuels in the ground, changing to renewable resources, and, ultimately, reshaping the economic system altogether. In the second instance, we are relying on carbon capture and storage technology (CCS).

NetZero At COP26

At Cop26, just as with Paris before that, it is the second model of NetZero that is at centre stage. There is little interest in deviating from those primary fossil fuels – even all the talk of a clean break from coal, most of it is lip service. In this story, a little reduction is made, people are forced to move to electric cars and CCS will look after the remaining emissions.

On their own terms, there is much to be sceptical about. To give us a chance to control the earth’s temperature, the warning of science is clear: we need a significant, radical, and quick reduction in the use of fossil fuels. That’s the message from the IPCC, the Climate Action Tracker, and many more besides. Without those, we we’ll be fighting a losing battle.

There is a basic link between all those heavy-duty facts. That’s that we have a capitalist system that systematically demolishes the earth’s natural resources for one simple reason: profit.

But, the stance of those in power gets worse again, as there is no evidence that the CCS technology works. In Paris in 2015, they were relying heavily on a process called BECCS – now, the evidence is clear: BECCS isn’t scientifically credibile!

Unfortunately, the NetZero alluded to at Cop26 and before that in Paris was a farce.

Leave them in the Ground

Half of the world’s mammals, birds, reptiles and fish have gone extinct in the last 40 years. Hundreds of thousands of people have been driven out of their homes in recent years because of extreme weather conditions. According to the UN, we have, at most, 60 harvests left until the planet’s soil is too depleted to feed the planet.

The majority carbon emissions in the history of the human race have been produced since the ‘Earth Summit’ in 1992.

There is a basic link between all those heavy-duty facts. That’s that we have a capitalist system that systematically demolishes the earth’s natural resources for one simple reason: profit.

COP26’s ‘Net Zero’ is too little too late, it’s a lie – Greta Thunberg called it a “scam.” We need ‘RealZero’. That is, we have to leave the fossil fuels where they are: in the ground. Any climate policy which doesn’t do this isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.