The group of nations that most vocally condemned the United States’ exit from the Paris Climate Agreement are showing characteristic hypocrisy, as they aren’t living up to their agreed-upon targets outlined by the accord. It’s not even really their fault – the standards outlined are so lofty as to be unrealistic – but it’s another indicator of why vacating the deal in favor of a more reasonable, short-term pact was the wise move.
It was back in December 2015 that 195 countries agreed to ‘the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal.’ It was a massive, sweeping deal with ambitious emissions cuts that, frankly, seem impossible to hit unless industrialization and manufacturing is to be halted completely.
‘The folks at CAN Europe note that the E.U. adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015 and committed to pursue efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C over the pre-industrial global average temperature by 2100…Under the Paris Agreement, the E.U. has promised a 40 percent cut in its emissions below their 1990 levels by 2030.’ (Reason)
And, considering that many believe attempts by humans to control the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere are futile – the earth does what it wants, they say – the deal is seen in some eyes as chasing a constantly moving goalpost, and punishing developing countries more than most. Those countries depend disproportionately on energy to provide economic opportunity and even the most basic standard of living, and the strict limitations and financial punishments placed on users of traditional energy by the Paris Agreement hit those nations the hardest.
But, despite legitimate critiques of the deal, the EU and other member nations treated the Paris Accord as if it was a moral imperative. They went so far as to threaten refusing trade deals with nations who didn’t ratify the Accord. Consider it blackmail-induced environmentalism on a global scale.
Now, it’s been revealed that those nations so quick to wag the finger of self-righteousness at those who were unwilling to tax their citizens and tie the hands of their economies have been vindicated. That’s because the 23 of 28 EU nations who entered the Paris Agreement aren’t on target to meet their Paris Climate Commitments, as unrealistic as they are.
‘The ranking shows that all EU countries are off target: they are failing to increase their climate action in line with the Paris Agreement goal. No single EU country is performing sufficiently in both ambition and progress in reducing carbon emissions. Countries can and must to do more to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.’ (CANEurope)
Yet, despite these countries already being behind in their emissions targets, the report opens with a statement calling for even higher standards. In other words, if an aspiring athlete has yet to clear the three foot hurdle, let’s raise it to six. That will do the trick!
‘the contributions proposed at the Paris talks are nowhere close enough to keep temperature rise below this threshold. Hence the EU, like all other countries in the world, needs to urgently and substantially increase its action, well beyond the currently agreed targets.’ (CANEurope)
It’s telling that the country who remains at the top of the rankings (aka the least far behind) is Sweden. Sweden, the nation which is being demographically morphed into a Middle Eastern nation that has been referred to as the Rape Capital of the West, leads in climate change reform!
Yippee! Progress!
This underlines the absurdity of this entire deal. It’s based on the premise that humans can, in fact, exert significant control over Mother Earth’s predilections. In other words, rising oceans, natural heating and cooling cycles, volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. are all mostly within man’s control. And the answer to limiting that damage is taxing the living hell out of proven energy sources while sinking disproportionate resources into unproven technologies with serious storage limitations.
This line of thinking, the Paris Accord purports, is what will save the future of our planet. Nevermind that Swedes live amidst unprecedented violence, and that a reported 1 in 4 Swedish women will be raped by statistical measures. They’re the most progressive nation in the world in terms of climate change, so they’ve knocked off the most fundamental threat to Swedes!
It’s an issue that even the greatest of believers can’t really believe.
Even if one professes that humans can control the future of weather patterns, are they going to be the first to turn off their lights to exert that control? Who is going to be that millionaire that switches to 100% renewable energy sources for their homes? Or gives up their private planes and runs their yacht using only solar power?
Al Gore? Leo DiCaprio? Emmanuel Macron? Theresa May? Angela Merkel? Justin Trudeau?
Didn’t think so.
And, until these ideologues stop condemning the common man and practice what they sycophantically preach, deals like the Paris Climate Accords will never work, if they ever could work at all.
