COP26 starts next Monday when allegedly 25,000 people will descend on Glasgow for the Conference. That will be quiet a carbon footprint in and off it’self won’t it. The conference is being talked up as a make or break conference for the planet around climate change, but when the Presidents of China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Russia are not attending it does make you wonder what impact it can really have for the planet given those countries are some of the largest polluters on the planet.
Now please excuse me for being cynical about the whole thing, I get that for some it means everything to the future of the planet, but in many ways it also means nothing because I just don’t see any change coming from this conference because nations are just not serious to make the kind of change that is required. We know that previous conferences have seen lobbying from oil and gas, from steel, from concrete businesses etc and this one won’t be any different will it. Of course there will be protesters, and there will be environment groups fighting their corner also, but who do you think the likes of Boris Johnson listen to, it’s not the protestors and the environmental charities that is for sure.
Some of the biggest differences we can make to the environment are around poverty, insolation of buildings, affordable energy, real recycling targets that actually happen, real levelling up where wealthy people, and companies, pay tax based partly on their level of pollution and not off setting or buying quotas from poorer countries, but of course they won’t will they. Protests are all good and well but will one world leader see the protests, I doubt it. The public will, but the public are not the problem are they, poor folk are not the largest polluters are they. So sorry, as all the good and great meet next Monday the vast majority of the public will get on with their lives, many with the same cynicism that I feel regarding this conference, the reality is it will mean nothing, or am I wrong?
grumpyscottishman.wordpress.com 
It illustrate your point, the same people signed the Paris Accord how many years ago? What’s changed? Zero.
Dave
I did look at what happened as a result of Paris and you’re correct virtually nothing happened hence the reason I am very cynical about Glasgow achieving anything more than a large carbon footprint and disruption for people who live there, also while chatting to folk, many don’t even know it is happening which says a lot also.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
General chat in the work is ‘why is it not online with Covid and thousands flying around etc?’ . Also folk coining it in letting their flats and houses for hundreds of pounds a night(protesters paying upwards of 200 quid a night?) and claiming to be doing it to be hospitable and aiding the efforts. The shops might, might get a turn, the hotels will get a turn apart from that its pretty shabby the whole thing. The politicans will get their make up on for the camera’s nae doot. Despite the glitz Cop26 is just part of the general decrepit state of politicians, power and the publicity that surrounding it today. Oh aye, every CEO of every multinational company will be floating about as well.
Obair
I’m surprised it is going ahead to be honest and especially given no one seems to think that it will achieve anything. It as you say Glasgow will make some money and maybe that is what these things are really about at the end of the day.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
The main source of pollution is Dundee FC playing cow sh*t football.
Sad to say, you’ve got it in one, especially the carbon footprint point.
If there are what, 300 or so delegates, why are there over 1000 people arriving in Glasgow?
A brilliant jolly, golf, sightseeing and throw in 3 days of talks. Agree some climate targets that everyone knows are unachievable because it cuts too many profit margins for too many business sectors.
Cynical or what? Please prove me wrong.
Nally
They are saying that around 25,000 will attend, what is that about. They spend some money in Glasgow though which will help pay for the bin mens overtime in trying to clean up the mess that has been left due to cuts to services. The whole thing is sadly going to achieve little and nothing will change until the Capital Cities around the world are flooded, they will act then I suppose or when rich people can’t fly to Space for a jolly.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
Nicola Sturgeon is a Climate Denier.
If you judge by actions and not words (as I do) then that is a true statement.
The Scottish Government have considerable powers over Transport, they have the power to effect real change to move people onto public transport and goods onto rail. They do virtually nothing, indeed less than nothing.
The A9 is to be dualled at enormous expense while the adjacent Highland Mainline is allowed to rot – yes there is tinkering at the edges – Methil reopening and East Kilbride Electrification – however these are exceptions which merely prove the rule, and even one of these has recently been “de-scoped” ie. cut back.
Local bus services in Scotland are in crisis, where I live in East Ayrshire there has been an enormous drop in demand that makes no sign of reviving. My local bus is at 50% of pre “event” level, 2 buses per hour instead of 4 and the X76 express service from Kilmarnock to Glasgow has collapsed from 3 buses an hour off peak to one! A disaster. Not a peep from the SG.
The Motorways are bursting at the seams as I see on my daily commute, which I would rather do on a reasonably priced, high quality public transport system – however such a thing does not exist in Scotland.
The Scottish Public Transport system is collapsing at a time when it is supposed to be key to reducing climate change – according to the rhetoric.
Nicola Sturgeon is a climate denier – she may be right, however by espousing belief in man made climate change while taking action that infers belief in the opposite she is a hypocrite.
JG
Totally agree, if anything Scotland should be moving towards free buses for all at least but the simple fact is it is cheaper to take the car and public transport is so patchy across the board half the time you can’t even get to where you want to go. I tend to walk as much as I can but do have to use the car, we even have the total joke that we don’t even recycle at a high rate and we are still allowing companies to use different kinds of plastic where there should be one only and one that can also be recycle, the politicians are not serious and are beholden to the companies so nothing will change until the end is nigh.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
All so true Bruce a waste of time money and air quality. The disgusting state Glasgow is in can only leave visitors with an image of a third world country, a poor colony, which is what Scotland is. Saor Alba.
Lara
It will achieve little or nothing because they are not serious and it’s the powerful companies that will decide anyway what happens, total joke. Dundee is also looking worse for wear now also, maybe not as bad as Glasgow, but not far off. That’s what years and years of cuts achieve yet people vote Tory in England so we get Tory in Scotland and too many so called Scots are happy with that, all so depressing.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
There is no doubt that some are very well intentioned people, although this was much more the case at the first Rio summit back in 1992.
Now the big corporations with vested interests are involved simply to mitigate and water down any effective action that may be taken whilst there are just a lot of politicians grandstanding, having their egos massaged, gorging on the gravy and signalling their virtue.
Nothing will change.
Duncanio
Agree 100% and really can’t add much, the politicians are not the ones making the decisions it is companies like Amazon and the other large polluters like Coke and Oil and Gas, nothing will sadly happen and things will just get worse. Would love to be proved wrong though.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
It’s just amazing that world leaders who are, presumably, the crême de la crême intellectually ( I jest), haven’t yet learned to use Zoom!
Peeliewallie
Yeah that is fair point, 25,000 people coming to Glasgow, of course no one will get Covid.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
They will just tinker around the edges, slap some ‘green’ taxes on poorer people while big business continues to pollute, and the world accelerates towards the abyss. I really have no hope that anything much will change. Look how WM is dealing with their sewage crisis – saying it’s too expensive to fix whilst shelling out shedloads of taxpayers money to shareholders. You may as well eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we will surely die, and the rest of innocent life on earth too.
FA
They will tinker around with things like paying off poorer countries for off setting, probably will make life even more expensive and dreary for poorer people while companies, the wealthy, and the politicians claim some kind of victory and we will accept it sadly. The world may not die but poor folks will, the wealthy will be in their space stations by then no doubt, don’t envy the future generations at all unless some kind of wonder technology is found.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
The only good thing about COP26 is that it’s being held in Glasgow. I watch CNN news and in their reporting they always refer to it as being held in Glasgow, Scotland, or just Scotland.
JSM
I tend to watch Euro News but recently been watching GBNews which is a real opener and even more right wing than the right wing press. Better to know your enemy ie the goons. Don’t have much hope for COP26 sadly, it’s just a Covid spreading event for Scotland.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
Why is no one mentioning the world population. 3B in 1950 and it’s now 7.8B. Do people really think that electric cars and heat pumps are going to save humanity. As the population increases demand for resources increases. All I can see for the person in the street is time travel back to the middle ages.
John
Never considered that, thanks for sharing that fact, and you are probably spot on.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce