Should COP stand for Constipation of Power?
I heard many speculate on the acronym in the months
leading up to this COP. No – the 26 doesn’t help either. Because it’s depressing
to consider this nonsense has been going on for over 1/4 century and still no
one who matters seems to be listening. The first COP was in Berlin Germany 1995
and in fact the first Earth Summit was in Stockholm Sweden 1972 half a century
ago when I was at junior school. My eldest grandchild is now in his second year of school.
But the COP part does not – as some of thought mean
Climate Objective Priority
Or
Cretins Out Please
Cherish One Planet
Children or
Profit
Climate Oblivion Prevention etc etc etc
It just means ‘Conference of the Parties. (CotP?) in
other words – a meeting of those who are meeting – and have been for 26 years
with similar before. The missing‘t’?
Could it stand for Truth?
It is as circular and pointless as the agreements
which have emerged from it.
The fact is that the world cannot be saved by
committee. No matter that hard-faced Tory and Johnson toady - Alok Sharma - tried to make his eyes water appropriately
for the cameras when the coal-friendly nonsense was agreed so there was
something to present to a salty media.
Australia – who we have a much heralded post-Brexit trade deal
with - isn’t on board. They have too much invested in coal to China. India, second
most populous nation, has been pissing about but they do have amoral
argument. Most of those wagging the finger at India have benefited not
just from trashing their own environments but much of the rest of the world. And here in the UK, our glorious fuckwit PM cut foreign aid during the
pandemic so we cannot expect anyone to take seriously claims that we intend to
help less fortunate countries tackle climate crises and those already suffering
the results of inaction.
At some point we may need to accept that we just
don’t give enough of a crap about something that isn’t affecting comfortably
off Westerners very immediately. Though mired in personal debt - most have never really experienced hardship,
discomfort, or any kind of real shortages. In fact many are drowning in their own accumulated shit in over-heated houses with two cars out
front. And that is just the way the system needs it.
It’s the pure profit motive that drives the West and
that is anathema to tackling the climate crisis. So while we may have the
argument about whether its huge corporations changing their game or you and I reusing
our shopping bags – the fact is, it’s the power and the money moving things along.
In last week’s Guardian Ben Okri wrote a wonderful
piece exhorting artists to write as if these are the last days This is something I've done for many years in books such as
&
And while most of my work remains on the er-who-is-she list of people who’ve not signed up to social media, it is obvious to me after many years that the two books folk shy away from when they are checking my stuff out are the two listed above.
Casey & the Surfmen was from back in the day when I thought collective action and hope could save us – if we ALL really cared. Zero One Zero Two is written from the point of view of a couple of minutes from where I think we are now.
We are not willing enough to change, to give
up stuff that falsely appears to make living less effort.
I’ve even tried explaining to folk that not having
that stuff they think is essential -
smartphone – microwave – car – dishwasher – credit card ( and on and on) is not
a hassle. Far from it. So much less to maintain, mend, pay for, distract you
from you family. I have none of that stuff and feel I am happier without it - though yes increasingly and further OUTSIDE the ring.
It is getting harder to live without the life-tracking all-seeing
always-shopping environment-wrecking smartphone but I’ll hang out as long as I
can.
Power and money go hand in hand and we keep handing power to people who are only interested in money. It sounds terribly boring but getting young folk to vote would make a much bigger difference than endless COPs.
But – no – we are going to carry on kidding
ourselves that buying a different type of car is the answer. Gadgets that
regulate our central heating. PLEASE. Oh – and try telling someone their pet
dogs are an environmental disaster (as well as shit machines). Go on. I dare
you.
Maybe COP should stand for Constipation of Power. At
least we wouldn’t have a spare consonant…
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And - you know I'm doing a series of ted talks - here's no. 3 In Defence of The Royals