Earth In Crisis: Giant Strides In 2024
Make This The Year Of Action To Halt Global Warming
By Tracey MacDermott
For the GPHN
At the close of the COP28 global climate summit in Dubai last month many celebrated a deal termed “the beginning of the end for the fossil fuel era.” While this may be considered historic, others have expressed disappointment that an actual phase-out of fossil fuels was not agreed upon.
For years scientists have been warning that our planet must remain below 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming to avert climate disasters. In 2018, scientists were calling on world leaders to achieve this by 2030.
Sadly, last year the mean global temperature was 1.46 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. 2023 was the hottest year ever recorded. And, the critical COP28, which ran from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, was — shockingly — led by an oil CEO.
Specifically, the oil tycoon is Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). His company is planning an expansion of oil and gas — we’re talking upwards of $150 billion worth of expansion. You read that correctly: billion. Yes, an oil tycoon oversaw one of the most important conference regarding our ever-warming planet. Is it an understatement to call this a conflict of interest?
As the conference was ending, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) called on its members to oppose any phaseout of fossil fuels. Sultan al-Jaber made a shocking statement during the talks — expressing that there is no science to support phasing out fossil fuels would keep us under the important benchmark of 1.5 degrees Celsius. (He later claimed that comment had been misinterpreted.)
Ultimately, summit leaders agreed to transition away from fossil fuels. However, the language falls short of requiring a “phaseout.” And it allows individual countries to decide how to reduce their own carbon pollution.
Last September, the New York Times summarized the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change with a distressing assessment that we will meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius mark in the first half of the next decade — meaning the goal is quickly slipping out of reach. If our world leaders make immediate efforts to slash greenhouse gases in half by 2030 and stop adding carbon dioxide altogether into the atmosphere, we still have only about a 50 percent chance of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
There is no time to waste.
Global climate activist Greta Thunberg reminded us of the impact of not reaching this goal: “If we do not phase out fossil fuels, it will be a death sentence for countless people.”
As overwhelming as this crisis is, we cannot lose hope and settle for inaction. What can each of you do?
Raise your voice. If an oil executive running a climate conference is as strange to you as, say, tobacco lobbyist Doug Friednash currently sitting on the board of directors overseeing Denver Health, it is time to start calling on our leaders. It’s time to demand immediate action.
Call your Congresswoman and U.S. Senators and demand that the U.S. — one of the world’s biggest emitters —take the lead on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. President Joe Biden has pushed through one of the biggest climate packages ever seen, but we need to do more.
During the just-completed COP28 conference the U.S. did reveal new rules for cracking down on methane gasses. Let’s make sure we do that not only across our nation but right here in Colorado. Call on our state lawmakers — who convene this month for the new legislative session — to tighten standards for methane leak detection and prompt repair.
Call on Congress to authorize the $3 billion the U.S. pledged to the Green Climate Fund, which is intended to support developing countries goals towards low-emissions and resiliency efforts.
As always, the work we do in our community helps drive change and inspires others. We can solve the climate crisis, but we must work together. Make 2024 the year we stop getting further behind. Get loud!
Tracey MacDermott is an at-large board member of Greater Park Hill Community, Inc., and former chair. She was trained as a Climate Reality Leader in 2017, and is currently the Statewide Co-Chair of the Climate Reality Project for the 100% Committed Campaign. She can be reached at traceymacdermott@gmail.com.