As the United Nations climate confab in Glasgow, Scotland draws to an end after weeks of talk of saving the planet by fundamentally transforming the resources nations are allowed to use to generate power, it turns out the climate finger-waggers were not all that green themselves.
Climate virtue signaling is this millennium's version of "eat cake" pic.twitter.com/iXVmNqfMa2
— Alec Sears (@alec_sears) November 12, 2021
According to The New York Times, of all outlets, a report shows the "the climate summit’s own carbon footprint will be substantial." How tragically but wonderfully ironic.
As it turns out, according to the British government, the 2021 U.N. climate summit "is expected to be double that of the previous conference in 2019" to the tune of "about 102,500 tons of carbon dioxide." Is this their idea of progress?
"The carbon footprint of this year’s United Nations climate summit is expected to be double that of the previous conference in 2019"
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) November 12, 2021
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The report notes that "international aviation" is the "largest contributor to the baseline" at more than 60 percent, with additional emissions being created by the accommodation for delegates, policing and security at the event, the power for the venue where world leaders declared their commitment to less CO2, local travel for personnel and delegates during the summit, and the food necessary to feed everyone attending.
As The New York Times points out in its report, the "environmental impact of the summit did not go unnoticed" even among those in attendance:
Vanessa Nakate, a climate activist from Uganda, on Thursday called out business leaders and investors, saying they had not taken immediate action but instead were “flying into COP on private jets” and “making fancy speeches.”