Gloomy outlook for the world’s climate

Anyone who can believe the global leaders will meet their targets regarding their various strategies to stem the tide of climate change must be naive in the extreme. Even projections made for 2030 or 2050 are far too futuristic. The problem is that the present rate of damage to the planet, be it by way of fossil fuels or otherwise, operates something like compound interest. You cannot for instance predict what will happen in the next ten years, let alone thirty, for this very reason. Too little, too late comes to mind.

I’m very pleased that the youth of so many countries are taking on the politicians and major polluting companies though far too much of their criticisms are falling on death ears. Even promises made, which are unlikely to materialize, fall well short of what is necessary.

Politicians are faced with an ongoing dilemma of reconciling jobs and how the various forms of employment in the pursuit thereof are harmful to the environment. Constantly we hear, even locally, the argument for building large industrial units on green land is that it will provide hundreds of jobs. And nationally we just have to take into account HS2 in this respect. Remember they predicted it would cost about thirty billion pound though now it’s underway, over one hundred billion. Such charlatans!

But of course providing jobs is central to any government policy but what use is this if we are creating conditions in which it is not possible to live; floods, forest fires and destructive weather in general becoming the order of the day? And with respect to the economic consideration of jobs then you have to consider the realization of this is what keeps politicians in their jobs from one election to the next. A vicious circle despite the promise to offset the issue to an extent with “green jobs.”

Jeremiah was seen to be the prophet of doom and gloom, hence the adjective jeremiad referring to a person of such an outlook. For sure I sadly fit into this category and would only be too pleased, in order to lift my gloomy outlook, for someone to reply with arguments based on a more optimistic outlook.

Greta Thunberg, the young climate change activist, has recently accused the world’s leaders of saying much but doing so little, in effect a load of blah, blah. This gains some poignancy in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The people give me lip service but their hearts are far from me.”

Much it seems of what I’ve written, in all humility, is given in far more detailed and erudite presentation by the pope’s address to the leaders of the world. Will this though largely fall on death ears with respect to aforementioned short term goals?

In conclusion. Some years ago I read with amusement something of a conundrum on the back of a box of England’s glory matches As follows. What is a pessimist? Answer. A pessimist is an experienced optimist! I think I can go along with this in the context of this debate.

David Abbott, Stoke Golding