October, 26 2021, 11:59am EDT

COP26: Just transition, or just greenwashing?
As climate change threatens people and the planet, COP26 poses a crucial opportunity to solidify commitments that will protect life in all its forms. While heads of state preemptively congratulate themselves on the success that this year's climate talks will be, millions of people, especially across the Global South, are suffering the impacts of the climate crisis, global vaccine apartheid, and ever-growing inequality.
GLASGOW
As climate change threatens people and the planet, COP26 poses a crucial opportunity to solidify commitments that will protect life in all its forms. While heads of state preemptively congratulate themselves on the success that this year's climate talks will be, millions of people, especially across the Global South, are suffering the impacts of the climate crisis, global vaccine apartheid, and ever-growing inequality.
What's the cause for celebration among the corporate elite and heads of state? The growing popularity of 'net zero' pledges, which are the fossil fuel industry's latest marketing attempt to convince the public that they can realize 'carbon neutrality.' In reality, these schemes are just Big Polluters' 'get out of jail free card' to avoid truly cutting emissions to zero or answering for decades of deception about their role in fueling the climate crisis. Later this week, CEOs of Exxon, Chevron, BP America, and Shell will be called in front of the U.S. Congress to answer for decades of deception.
"Big Oil not only lied to the American public about the reality and dangers of the climate crisis, they continue to churn out propaganda that downplays their central role in the greatest existential threat to humanity of our time," says Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA), chair of the Oversight Environmental Subcommittee, hosting this week's Congressional hearings. "The fossil fuel industry's 'net zero' campaign is just one more way Big Oil is trying to deny responsibility for their central role in climate disruption, as extreme weather, flash floods, fires and record breaking temperatures wreak havoc for life on earth. Thursday's hearing is the fossil fuel industry's Big Tobacco moment and just as it was for Big Tobacco, Big Oil must know they're no longer going to be able to lie and get away with it."
But these polluters will continue to parade a 'net zero' agenda at COP26, as revealed in Still a Big Con: How Big Polluters are using 'net zero' to block meaningful action at COP26, new research out today from Corporate Accountability, Corporate Europe Observatory, Global Forest Coalition, and Friends of the Earth International. In the lead-up to this year's negotiations, all boasting 'net zero' pledges, BP and Shell have each met with UK officials more than 50 times; Microsoft continues to hold contracts with Exxon while sponsoring COP26; and BlackRock, still heavily invested in coal, is both lobbying the EU and advising it on climate finance.
"Big Polluters have pulled out all the stops promoting their flakey 'net zero' plans on the road to COP26, from schmoozing decision-makers and sponsoring conferences to rubbing shoulders with the Queen of England." says Pascoe Sabido, researcher with Corporate Europe Observatory. "But look behind their vague ambitions and you see a chilling future of climate chaos and continued planetary destruction. These climate criminals should have no seat at the table while they continue to try and burn it down. Why has the UNFCCC not kicked them out already?"
While polluters are playing their cards via governments and greenwashing gambits, this year's Conference of the Parties is no game of Monopoly. Billions of lives are at stake, no matter how much Big Polluters stand to profit from continued delay of climate policy that can protect people and the planet.
Leonela Yasuni Moncayo, youth activist with UDAPT (Union of Affected Peoples by Chevron/Texaco), speaks from her firsthand experience in Ecuador. "The Amazon, my community and I, our skin shows the destruction and disease that big polluting companies have left in their wake. My present and future cannot depend on the will of corporations. They have shown that they will stop at nothing to make a profit, even when our rivers fill with oil, our lungs with gases, our bodies with cancer, our plants with poison and the air with smoke."
Without drastic action by governments at the UNFCCC and at home, the corporations that brought us this crisis will retain access to those decision-making spaces at COP, where rules for real solutions, as well as dangerous distractions like carbon markets, could get finalized. It's impossible to write strong climate policies with polluters in the room--but there is already a strong international precedent for protecting policy from industry influence.
"The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) provides tools that can protect policymaking from interference by the tobacco industry--which prioritizes profits over the health of the public and of the planet," explains Dr. Adriana Blanco Marquizo, Head of the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC. "Some features of the WHO FCTC that make it a strong protector of public health--such as articles on liability and conflicts with commercial and other vested interests--may also help to protect climate policy from industries that pose a danger to people and the planet."
As evidenced by the strength of the WHO FCTC, negotiating international policies without industry interference can save lives. Further, in place of any empty 'net zero' scheme brought forward by the likes of BP and Microsoft, there are real solutions that governments can deploy. People most directly impacted by these intersecting crises are closest to the solutions, as on the African continent.
"Africans are clear: we must set the agenda for African policymaking, not corporate shills," says Aderonke Ige, Associate Director at Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa. "It is we who experience vaccine apartheid and climate disaster. 'Net zero' is a death sentence for Africans. COVID-19 remains a mortal threat. Not only do we demand life--we demand to be in leadership on real solutions to addressing these crises."
It's time for governments around the world to reject dangerous 'net zero' distractions--and boldly advance a plan for real zero, real solutions, and a just, livable future.
Speakers included:
- Pascoe Sabido, researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory, on key takeaways from original findings about polluter influence at COP26.
- Dr. Adriana Blanco Marquizo, Head of the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, on legal precedent from tobacco control policy and potential applications in international climate policy.
- Representative Ro Khanna of California (D-17), spoke about the upcoming House Oversight Committee hearings on Big Oil's historic disinformation campaign, and the importance of fossil fuel accountability efforts.
- Leonela Yasuni Moncayo, 11 year old youth plaintiff in the case of gas flaring in the Ecuadorian Amazon against the Ecuadorian state, and member of UDAPT (Union of Affected Peoples by Chevron/Texaco) on the urgent need for action to address historic harms and protect a livable future.
- Aderonke Ige, Associate Director, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, on the need for real solutions over corporate greenwash.
The event was moderated by Scott Tully, a member of Glasgow Calls Out Polluters (GCOP), a grassroots group organizing for climate justice at COP26.
Speakers are available for additional questions or comments upon request.
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'Authoritarian Theater' Meets 'Pure F*cking Idiocracy' as Trump Promises White House UFC Match
"Americans, you won't have healthcare, Medicaid, public schools, nursing homes, rural hospitals, or SNAP," said one critic. "But, you'll get UFC fights on the White House lawn. America F-Yeah!"
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Critics of President Donald Trump's announcement of a planned Ultimate Fighting Championship event on White House grounds to celebrate the United States Semiquincentennial next year took to social media Friday to call the proposal something "straight out of 'Idiocracy'"—the comedy cult classic about a dumbed-down 26th-century America—and condemn what one detractor called "authoritarian theater."
"Every one of our national park battlefields and historic sites are going to have special events in honor of America 250," Trump said at the Iowa State Fairgrounds Thursday. "We're going to have a UFC fight—think of this—on the grounds of the White House."
Yearning for a time when every new day isn't exponentially dumber than the day before.
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— Dave Vetter (@davidrvetter.bsky.social) July 4, 2025 at 2:57 AM
While Octagon aficionados cheered the prospect of a 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue fight card, many observers couldn't help but notice parallels with the plot of Mike Judge's 2006 film "Idiocracy," a satirical skewering of issues including the erosion of White House decorum in a future when IQs have plummeted and a sports drink corporation owns the country, whose voters elect Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho, "five-time ultimate smackdown champion and porn superstar," as president.
"If anyone defends Trump saying there will be a UFC fight on the White House lawn never listen to them again," former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois wrote on the social media site X Friday, adding that Trump's announcement was like the "plot to 'Idiocracy' with an equally stupid-ass president."
Another X user fumed: "This is what happens when a failed empire hits rock bottom and throws a party about it. UFC fight on the White House lawn to celebrate 250 years of what used to be a country with brains. This ain't strength, this is pure fucking Idiocracy. Straight out of Rome before it burned, give the mob a fight and some burgers while the world collapses around them.
Yet another social media critic joked that "'Idiocracy' was actually a documentary from the future, sent back in time as a warning to us all."
Some critics pointed to the decadeslong business ties between Trump and UFC President and CEO Dana White, who has donated at least $1 million to Trump's campaign coffers.
Others noted the "bread and circuses" vibes of Trump's proposed event, which some called a cynical ploy meant to distract from the devastating impact of policies like Friday's signing of a multi-trillion-dollar tax cut that will overwhelmingly benefit the rich and corporations, while ballooning the deficit and leaving millions of Americans without desperately needed health insurance coverage and food assistance.
"Americans, you won't have healthcare, Medicaid, public schools, nursing homes, rural hospitals, or SNAP. But, you'll get UFC fights on the White House lawn," New York Times opinion contributor Wajahat Ali wrote on Bluesky. "America, F-YEAH!"
Writing for The Guardian Saturday, Karim Zidan asserted: "Donald Trump's UFC stunt is more than a circus. It's authoritarian theater."
"It carries shades of fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini, particularly its obsession with masculinity, spectacle, and nationalism—but with a modern, American twist," he wrote. "Fascist Italy used rallies, parades, and sports events to project strength and unity."
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"Experts warned for months that drastic and sudden cuts at the National Weather Service by Trump could impair their forecasting ability and endanger lives during the storm season," said one critic.
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As catastrophic flooding left scores of people dead and missing in Texas Hill Country and President Donald Trump celebrated signing legislation that will eviscerate every aspect of federal efforts to address the climate emergency, officials in the Lone Star State blasted the National Weather Service—one of many agencies gutted by the Department of Government Efficiency—for issuing faulty forecasts that some observers blamed for the flood's high death toll.
The Associated Press reported Saturday that flooding caused by a powerful storm killed at least 27 people, with dozens more—including as many as 25 girls from a summer camp along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County—missing after fast-moving floodwaters rose 26 feet (8 meters) in less than an hour before dawn on Friday, sweeping away people and pets along with homes, vehicles, farm and wild animals, and property.
"Everybody got the forecast from the National Weather Service... It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw."
"The camp was completely destroyed," Elinor Lester, 13, one of hundreds of campers at Camp Mystic, told the AP. "A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary."
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said during a press conference in Kerrville late Friday that 24 people were confirmed dead, including children. Other officials said that 240 people had been rescued.
Although the National Weather Service on Thursday issued a broad flood watch for the area, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd—noting that the NWS predicted 3-6 inches of rain for the Concho Valley and 4-8 inches for the Hill Country—told reporters during a press conference earlier Friday that "the amount of rain that fell in this specific location was never in any of those forecasts."
After media reports & experts warned for months that drastic & sudden cuts at the Nat Weather Service by Trump could impair their forecasting ability & endanger lives during the storm season, TX officials blame an inaccurate forecast by NWS for the deadly results of the flood.
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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) July 5, 2025 at 3:19 AM
"Listen, everybody got the forecast from the National Weather Service," Kidd reiterated. "You all got it; you're all in media. You got that forecast. It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw."
Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice also said during the press conference that the storm "dumped more rain than what was forecasted" into two forks of the Guadalupe River.
Kerr County judge Rob Kelly told CBS News: "We had no reason to believe that this was gonna be anything like what's happened here. None whatsoever."
Since January, the NWS—a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—has reduced its workforce by nearly 600 people as a direct result of staffing cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, as part of Trump's mission to eviscerate numerous federal agencies.
This policy is in line with Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-led blueprint for a far-right overhaul of the federal government that calls for "dismantling" NOAA. Trump has also called for the elimination of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, arguing that states should shoulder most of the burden of extreme weather preparation and response. Shutting down FEMA would require an act of Congress.
Many of the fired NWS staffers were specialized climate scientists and weather forecasters. At the time of the firings, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, was among those who warned of the cuts' deadly consequences.
"People nationwide depend on NOAA for free, accurate forecasts, severe weather alerts, and emergency information," Huffman said. "Purging the government of scientists, experts, and career civil servants and slashing fundamental programs will cost lives."
Writing for the Texas Observer, Henry D. Jacoby—co-director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change—warned that "crucial data gathering systems are at risk."
"Federal ability to warn the public is being degraded," he added, "and it is a public service no state can replace."
On Friday, Trump put presidential pen to congressional Republicans' so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a $4 trillion tax and spending package that effectively erases the landmark climate and clean energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act signed by then-President Joe Biden in 2022.
As Inside Climate News noted of the new law:
It stomps out incentives for purchasing electric vehicles and efficient appliances. It phases out tax credits for wind and solar energy. It opens up federal land and water for oil and gas drilling and increases its profitability, while creating new federal support for coal. It ends the historic investment in poor and minority communities that bear a disproportionate pollution burden—money that the Trump administration was already refusing to spend. It wipes out any spending on greening the federal government.
Furthermore, as MeidasNews editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski noted Saturday, "rural areas hit hardest by catastrophic storms are the same areas now in danger of losing their hospitals after Trump's Medicaid cuts just passed" as part of the budget reconciliation package.
At least one congressional Republican is ready to take action in the face of increasing extreme weather events. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)—who once attributed California wildfires to Jewish-controlled space lasers—announced Saturday that she is "introducing a bill that prohibits the injection, release, or dispersion of chemicals or substances into the atmosphere for the express purpose of altering weather, temperature, climate, or sunlight intensity."
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Al-Maghazi Services Club announced al-Lili's death in a Facebook tribute offering condolences to "his family, relatives, friends, and colleagues" and asking "Allah to shower him with his mercy."
The Palestine Football Association (PFA) said that "on Monday, a drone fired a missile at Muhannad's room on the third floor of his house, which led to severe bleeding in the skull."
"During the war of extermination against our people, Muhannad tried to travel outside Gaza to catch up with his wife, who left the strip for Norway on a work mission before the outbreak of the war," the association added. "But he failed to do so, and was deprived of seeing his eldest son, who was born outside the Gaza Strip."
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