Pierre Lison

My reaction to the latest #COP28 draft Global Stocktake text: The text is a monument of schizophrenia: It first acknowledges, recognises, or notes the numerous and gigantic gaps between what is needed and what has been delivered up to now. Those gaps are in every sector: emission reductions, adaptation, climate finance from developed countries, capacity building, greening of the energy system… And then, after such a clear diagnosis, it decides almost NOTHING. It is striking that this draft « decision text » contains 115 occurrences of the verbs « acknowledge », « recognise », and «note », while the verb « decide » is used only five times, and in relation to minor issues. There seems to be a total disconnect between the diagnosis and the treatment. The diagnosis is that of a potentially deadly cancer, due to abuse of fossil fuels. The prescribed treatment is a mixture of wishful thinking and magic. To say that governments are called to take actions that « could include », « inter alia » « reducing both consumption and production of fossil fuels so as to achieve net zero (…) around 2050 in keeping with the science » amounts to actually neglecting the science that says that anything short of phasing out fossil fuels almost completely by 2050 will not allow respecting the 1.5°C target with a serious probability. I invite the negotiators of all Parties to read again the letter I wrote the other day with @MichaelEMann on behalf of the climate system: michaelmann.net/content/our-… You cannot negotiate with the laws of nature. @uaeclimateenvoy @COP28_UAE @simonstiell – at Dubai, United Arab Emirates