No to greenwashing

At the start of the ongoing UN-sponsored climate change summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “We must have zero tolerance for net-zero greenwashing. Today’s Expert Group report is a how-to guide to ensure credible, accountable net-zero pledges.”

The term “greenwashing” refers to the “process of conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company’s products are environmentally sound. Greenwashing involves making an unsubstantiated claim to deceive customers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally friendly or have a greater positive impact than is true.”

This definition could very well refer to the obviously public relations campaign being launched by certain governments and corporations, especially fossil fuel producers who try to appear as if they are at the forefront of the fight against global warming. There are several oil companies, for example, who have launched advertising campaigns showing their efforts to combat climate change. At the same time, there are reports that the biggest lobbyist against laws protecting the environment and reducing emissions are these same fossil fuel producers.

Scientists and climate activists have reported during the same summit that global fossil fuel emissions will reach record highs in 2022. The current trend also shows that the world will be further away from the agreed goal of stopping global warming.  For example, the NGO Global Carbon Project reported that the world emitted one percent more this year than in the previous year. In the Paris Agreement seven years ago, there was a global agreement to stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2050. The goal was to stabilize global temperatures and minimize the risks from deadly heat waves, the rise of sea levels and the collapse of the ecosystem. At the current rate of emission, experts say that the 2050 deadline is impossible to meet.

Glen Peters, research director at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research based in Norway, said, “Every year that emissions go up makes it that much more challenging to bring them back down again by a certain date.” He was referring to the global warming target.

One of the major topics discussed was the need for richer countries to subsidize the efforts of poorer countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The rationale is that the principal emitters are the rich countries while the poorer countries who have very little emissions suffer from the effects of global warming like typhoons, floods, sea level increase. In fact, very few countries account for the majority of the world’s fossil fuel emissions. These countries are China, responsible for 32 percent; the US, 14 percent; the European Union, 8 percent and India, 8 percent. In all these places, it seems that it is only Europe making a serious effort in the stopping of the use of coal-fired power plants.

China and India are still using coal as the major source of power. This is the reason why Chinese and Indian cities are the most polluted in the world. In fact, the most polluted city in the world is New Delhi in India. In Europe, there is a sudden rise in the use of coal because countries like Germany and Austria have restarted the long dormant coal-fired power plants.

Previously, the major source of fuel for the European countries was natural gas from Russia. Because of the Ukraine-Russian war, Russia has cut off its natural gas supply for Europe. The end of the pandemic has also been one reason why there has been an increase in the need for power. The increase in consumption as lockdowns have ceased has increased the need for power. Thus, adding to the emissions. The sudden rise of travel has also increased aviation, another source of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Middle East, led by Saudi Arabia, has decided to reduce crude oil production in spite of the need for additional crude oil. The seemingly obvious reason or motivation for this is to keep the price of oil and natural gas high.

Antonio Guterres in his opening speech at the Climate Summit has called for a “historic pact between developed and emerging economies – a Climate Solidarity Pact. A pact in which all countries make a special effort to reduce emissions this decade in line with the 1.5-degree goal. A pact in which wealthier countries and international financial institutions provide financial and technical assistance to help emerging economies speed their own renewable energy transition.”

In the Philippines, we should remind our government that one of the major causes of climate change and global warming is deforestation. If we are to seriously address the problems caused by typhoons and floods, it is not better evacuation plans or faster warning systems that are needed. The problem of deforestation caused mainly by illegal logging, farming and mining must be seriously addressed.

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Write Things’ Zoom classes: Nov. 19, 10:30 am – last class for adult writers for the year with facilitator Dinah Roma on the art of poetry. Nov. 26, 2-3 pm, Young Writers’ Hangout with returning facilitator Susan Lara. Contact [email protected]. 0945.2273216

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