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selwin hart
Fossil Fuel Industry Propaganda Blamed as Record Heat Scorches Planet
"We need to tackle the root cause and get serious about reducing record levels of greenhouse gas emissions," said the head of the World Meteorological Organization.
Aug 08, 2024
As scientists around the world on Thursday released new data about recent record-smashing heat, one United Nations adviser placed blame for the lack of ambitious climate action on the fossil fuel industry's decadeslong disinformation efforts.
"There is this prevailing narrative—and a lot of it is being pushed by the fossil fuel industry and their enablers—that climate action is too difficult, it's too expensive," Selwin Hart, a special adviser to the U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and assistant secretary-general of the Climate Action Team, told The Guardian's Fiona Harvey.
"It is absolutely critical that leaders, and all of us, push back and explain to people the value of climate action, but also the consequences of climate inaction," said Hart, former executive director of the Caribbean at the Inter-American Development Bank and Barbados' ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States.
Investigations by academics, journalists, and lawmakers as well as ongoing legal battles have exposed how Big Oil not only has heated and polluted the planet but also knew about the devastating impacts of fossil fuels decades ago and opted to spread lies so shareholders could make massive profits—which they continue to rake in today.
"Climate appears to be dropping down the list of priorities of leaders," Hart said, pointing to polling that shows people around the world want a rapid transition to clean energy. "But we really need leaders now to deliver maximum ambition. And we need maximum cooperation. Unfortunately, we are not seeing that at the moment."
According to The Guardian:
[Hart] warned that the consequences of inaction were being felt in rich countries as well as poor. In the U.S., many thousands of people are finding it increasingly impossible to insure their homes, as extreme weather worsens. "This is directly due to the climate crisis, and directly due to the use of fossil fuels," he said. "Ordinary people are having to pay the price of a climate crisis while the fossil fuel industry continues to reap excess profits and still receives massive government subsidies."
Yet the world has never been better equipped to tackle climate breakdown, Hart added. "Renewables are the cheapest they've ever been, the pace of the energy transition is accelerating," he said.
Hart's comments came as the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) announced that last month "was the second-warmest July globally in our data record, with an average ERA5 surface air temperature of 16.91ºC," or 62.44ºF.
From June 2023 to June 2024, each month was the hottest on record, according to C3S. Samantha Burgess, the agency's deputy director, noted that now, "the streak of record-breaking months has come to an end, but only by a whisker."
"Globally, July 2024 was almost as warm as July 2023, the hottest month on record," Burgess stressed. "July 2024 saw the two hottest days on record. The overall context hasn't changed, our climate continues to warm. The devastating effects of climate change started well before 2023 and will continue until global greenhouse gas emissions reach net-zero."
The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Thursday that the new C3S data "underlines the urgency of the Call to Action on Extreme Heat" issued by Guterres last month, shortly after July 22 became the hottest day ever recorded.
"Widespread, intense, and extended heatwaves have hit every continent in the past year," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo in a statement. "At least 10 countries have recorded daily temperatures of more than 50ºC in more than one location. This is becoming too hot to handle."
Saulo highlighted that "Death Valley in California registered a record average monthly temperature of 42.5ºC (108.5ºF)—possibly a new record observed for anywhere in the world. Even the remote frozen ice sheets of Antarctica have been feeling the heat."
"The WMO community is committed to responding to the U.N. secretary-general's Call to Action with better heat-health early warnings and action plans," she pledged. "Recent estimates produced by WMO and the World Health Organization indicate that the global scale-up of heat-health warning systems for 57 countries alone has the potential to save an estimated 98,000 lives per year. This is one of the priorities of the Early Warnings for All initiative."
"Climate adaptation alone is not enough," she added. "We need to tackle the root cause and get serious about reducing record levels of greenhouse gas emissions."
C3S wasn't alone in releasing new data on Thursday; the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also shared some key points for the country's climate in July, with the full report set to be released on Tuesday.
NOAA's top takeaways were:
- The average temperature of the contiguous U.S. in July was 75.7ºF, 2.1ºF above average, ranking 11th warmest in the 130-year record.
- The Park Fire is the fourth-largest wildfire in California history as of August 6; beginning on July 24, it burned approximately 401,000 acres and destroyed over 560 structures.
- On July 15, a derecho that spawned 32 tornadoes broke the Chicago-area record for most tornadoes in a day.
- On July 1, Beryl became the earliest Category 5 hurricane and the second Category 5 on record during the month of July in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Alaska had its wettest July on record.
- Four new billion-dollar weather and climate disasters were confirmed in July. The year-to-date total currently stands at 19 disasters.
Other major events in July included California's Thompson Fire, which forced over 13,000 people to evacuate, and Washington, D.C. enduring 101ºF on July 17, tying a record for the longest streak of temperatures above 100ºF. NOAA also found that "for the January-July period, the average contiguous U.S. temperature was 54.5ºF, 3.2ºF above average, ranking second-warmest on record."
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‘Inexcusable’: US Slammed for Refusal on Global Green Climate Fund
"Parties missed a pivotal opportunity for developed countries to walk the talk regarding their commitments to combating the climate crisis," one campaigner lamented.
Oct 06, 2023
Climate defenders admonished several rich nations for falling short of the $10 billion fundraising goal set for Thursday's Green Climate Fund Pledging Summit in Bonn, Germany, with the United States singled out for what one campaigner called its "glaring and inexcusable" failure to contribute this round, even as the climate emergency worsens.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF)—established in 2010 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to finance projects in developing nations to help them adapt to the climate emergency—presented an opportunity for wealthier nations to make new and increased pledges ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Conference, or COP28, which begins November 30 in Dubai.
However, Thursday's summit raised just $9.3 billion, falling short of its $10 billion goal and coming nowhere near the $200-$250 billion the UNFCCC estimates is needed every year until 2030. Twenty-five countries promised to donate to the fund, with Denmark, Ireland, and Liechtenstein doubling their previous pledges.
Germany and the United Kingdom promised $2 billion apiece. France offered $1.7 billion, while Japan said it would contribute $1.1 billion. Australia, Switzerland, Italy, and Sweden said they were working on their commitments and would donate later.
The U.S.—which previously pledged $3 billion—also signaled its intent to contribute, but offered nothing on Thursday. China, the world's largest polluter, did not pledge.
"Time is not on our side. And promises made must be promises kept," Selwin Hart, special climate adviser to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, said in a statement following the summit. "This is the only way to rebuild the trust needed to confront the climate crisis."
Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at the advocacy group Climate Action Network International, said in a statement that "the Green Climate Fund, envisioned as the lifeline for climate action in developing nations, is held back by the indifference of wealthy countries."
"It's vital to underscore that public finance is key to ensuring vulnerable nations receive the support they need, particularly for boosting adaptation efforts," he stressed.
Singh continued:
While Ireland's 150% pledge increase is praiseworthy, the tepid commitments—or outright stagnation—from nations such as Japan and Norway are deeply concerning. Some countries, like Sweden, seem to sidestep their obligations by urging developing nations to contribute to the fund. The silence of the United States, even as it participates on the GCF Board and shapes policies without meeting its financial obligations, is glaring and inexcusable.
"With COP28 on the horizon, the GCF replenishment conference has fallen short of expectations," he added. "However, it's important to remember that nations are not restricted to making pledges only during set intervals; they can and should step forward with contributions at any time to support climate action."
Tara Daniel, senior program manager at the Women's Environment and Development Organization, said that "today, parties missed a pivotal opportunity for developed countries to walk the talk regarding their commitments to combating the climate crisis."
"As the flagship fund for implementing the Paris agreement, one that prioritizes adaptation as much as mitigation, and governed more equitably than multilateral development banks, the GCF is central to our collective efforts to achieve transformative climate action," Daniel asserted.
"Unfortunately, the pledging conference today showed that while climate impacts continue to increase, collective climate finance through the GCF has not increased," she lamented. "The U.S. in particular has failed to put any money where its climate rhetoric is."
"Yet the opportunity is not irrevocably lost; the pledging conference does not have to be the end of the road," Daniel added. "We wait to see if COP28 unlocks the ambition the world needs and deserves."
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