It could have been worse. King Charles could have ascended to his desert dais and pronounced that we had just 96 months to avert “irretrievable climate and ecosystem collapse”. But that was the Right Charlie back in 2009, giving us the benefit of his sandwich-board scientific wisdom. These days it is all fashionable bad weather and undefined “tipping points”. The man is now King, and at COP28 he threw away his irksome politically-neutral constitutional role, wrapped himself in Guardianista pseudoscience, and punched down hard on the poor who will be forced to pay for the collectivist madness that is the Net Zero project.
King Charles is no friend of general humanity. Speaking at COP28, he said: “The Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth.” As with many know-your-place elitists, he appears to abhor the impacts that humans have on the planet. He exhibits, sadly on a world stage, a snobbish distain for capitalism – what used to be dismissed in British aristocratic circles as ‘trade’. This capitalist trend over the last 200 years has harnessed the power of natural hydrocarbons to raise billions to a standard of living and health unimaginable to previous generations. In 2009, Charles said we can no longer afford consumerism and the “age of convenience” was over.
Not for the new British King, it need hardly be observed. He lives a life of pampered indulgence where no expense is spared to ensure his every comfort. On his accession to the throne, he added considerably to his Palace Portfolio. To spread his malevolent Net Zero fantasies, he has a fleet of cars, private planes and even a personal train at his command. He uses these to call for “transformational action” to be taken to save the planet. In his COP28 speech, he called for the restoration of nature, the need for sustainable agriculture, and co-operation between the public and private sectors.
Few calls could be more political in tone. The restoration of nature and sustainable agriculture is shorthand for largely meat-free diets and massive reductions in nitrogen fertiliser. The latter, in particular, will lead to worldwide famine. COP28 seems set to announce new food and agriculture restrictions using the tactic of demonising methane, a gas emitted by animals and humans that is barely measurable in the atmosphere due to a very short lifecycle. Whenever the subject of ‘co-operation’ between public and private sectors is raised, there is an immediate dash to count the spoons, since it can only signal a large transfer of cash from productive industries to unproductive and inferior green operations.
At one point in his COP speech, King Charles veered into sandwich-board territory claiming that “we are seeing alarming tipping points being reached”. There was no evidence presented to justify this claim, often made by climate extremists using modelled data. In fact, he didn’t even refer to any actual ‘tipping’ event that has been reached. Many scientists have concluded that bad, or extreme, weather events are no worse than in the immediate past. Many categories of natural disasters such as floods, droughts and ecosystem productivity “show no clear positive trend of extreme events”, note a group of four Italian scientists. They argue that the data shows there is no “climate emergency”.
None of these facts seem to matter to a political King, who, like a stuck Guardian record, keeps on pressing on with made-up emotional stories of impending climate Armageddon. At one point he referred to repeated cyclones battering vulnerable islands, something that cyclones have always done.
The King can always cherry-pick individual storms but there is plenty of evidence to show that hurricane and cyclone frequency, along with intensity, has changed little over the recent historical record, as the above graph shows.
Wildfires are a bit of a dud when it comes to whipping up climate hysteria, not least because the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change notes that most conflagrations are started by humans. “Human activities have become the dominant driver,” it observes. But when there is political Net Zero work to be done, the King is only too happy to overlook the evidence. In common with many other countries this year, Canada experienced its worst wildfires for a century, he said.
Despite all the human involvement, the above graph shows the gradual decline of global emissions from wildfires over recent decades. In fact, wildfires are almost impossible to pin on any changes on climate since so many other factors, such as arson and land management, are in play.
Net Zero is rapidly becoming the dominant political issue of the age. Its obvious collectivist nature gathers support from mostly sectional interests in society. It has no significant grassroots support, since it aims to restrict human lifestyles and wealth on a scale never attempted before in history. It is awash with junk science, fake statistics and computer models.
The late Queen, in her infinite wisdom, never went anywhere near it.
Chris Morrison is the Daily Sceptic’s Environment Editor.
Stop Press: David Cameron at COP28 has said the U.K. will pay £60 million in climate reparations to developing countries. The Epoch Times has more.
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COP28: comedy gold…..the gift that keeps giving…..after flying there on private executive jets, they’ll probably have a side meeting on how to get there on their private yachts next time….oh…hang on…..
https://www.cop28.com/en/schedule/responsible-yachting-today-tomorrow
Yes, I saw that one about responsible yachting. To me, a yacht has masts and sails which can be made of wood and cloth so what’s the problem? Hmmmmm
I used to follow a YT channel of a couple who were crossing oceans in a sailing boat – high tech materials, and a battery to work their high tech comms equipment that enabled them to get where they needed to go safely –
satellite, radar, GPS etc. All very “green”.
I saw them. I think they had a baby with them too. It was very inspiring. Travel around the world on your own with no laws, government regulations or limits of where to go (well almost).
A prepper’s ideal final escape from the techno totalitarian nightmare.
It was during lockdown in part so they largely avoided all that crap
The discussion will focus on a variety of technical solutions developed to make the yachting experience more responsible and sustainable. Sunreef Yachts Eco representatives will share an insight into the R&D activity of the company and practical solutions that can be implemented to ensure cleaner boating. This will include a conversation about electric, hybrid and hydrogen propulsion, battery technology, plant-based composites, bottom paints, modern photovoltaics, sustainable interior finishing, water management, energy management, air conditioning. The focus will also be on the evolution of technology and future trends.
My emphasis in bold. I can see that they are not talking about the yachts I had in mind i.e. your little sailing boat with its entirely sustainable profile involving things like sails, ropes, rudders, tillers, hulls and masts often made of wood but yachts for the super wealthy with their ‘air conditioning’ and ‘energy management’ requirements! I had a look at Sunreef’s range – some of them even have helipads. So, not the yachts for thee and thou but the yachts for they and them!
There is “science” and then there are “myths”. ———-There is no evidence that CO2 is causing or will cause dangerous changes to climate. It certainly has not done so up till now and we keep getting told that the CO2 that we have “pumped” into the atmosphere since the 1700’s is causing climate change. But that is falsified by the fact that there is no increase in the frequency or intensity of any type of weather event. Yet computer models full of assumptions, guesses and speculations where basic parameters are either poorly understood or totally unknown are presented as “the science”——MODELS ARE NOT SCIENCE, and guess what ? They have all been totally wrong till now anyway. —-So if it is clearly not about science, what is it about? —————CO2 is the one gas that can be directly tied to Industrial Capitalism, and I am afraid that is what it is really about. The wealthiest people and countries emit the most and the poorest people and countries emit the least. The wealthiest people who live in the prosperous west are to stop emitting CO2 , which really means they are to stop using fossil fuels because we can afford to dabble in expensive niche technologies ike wind and sun and we are to send money to poorer people by way of bribes to tell them to leave their fossil fuels in the ground——-“Reparations” or “climate justice” or some other eco socialist terminology is used that really is about total control of the worlds wealth and resources, and the excuse for all of this anti capitalist central planning is “climate change”, the greatest pseudo scientific fraud ever.
“The wealthiest people who live in the prosperous west are to stop emitting CO2 …”
Well, not quite, since all human beings are CO2 generators: with every breath we breathe, we exhale 100 times the amount of CO2 we inhale. I learned that in biology at school – a long time ago, when schools used to educate. We are, after all, animals that survive by converting O2 to CO2. So those of us who really believe CO2 is destroying the planet need to … hold their breath!
Another cracker from Mr Morrison, thank you.
It was a pleasure to meet you briefly on Monday evening at Lola’s.
Always like reading Mr Morrison he has a terrific sense of humour and the way his takes the p*** out of these climate change net zero freaks is second to none.
I noticed the Met Office were panicked yesterday into releasing a YouTube video on the 1.5%.
Funnily enough, they didn’t mention any of the points raised above!
Another fact recently established in a study shows that a total transformation to so-called ‘renewables’ would require a further 80 million kilometres of high voltage transmission cabling – or in layman’s terms 80 million kilometres of steel wire and pylons.
https://joannenova.com.au/2023/12/your-clean-green-future-needs-another-80-million-km-of-high-voltage-lines/
There is no intention to make “a total transformation to so-called ‘renewables’ “. That is simply a myth. The intention is to reduce the population such that the elites have everything to themselves with a slave population to service them.
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-cop-squad-are-coming-for-our-cows/
As many of us here know attacks on food supplies are an integral part of the depopulation plan. So they are going to reduce methane – in other words cattle.
Here we go again.
The people intent on selling vegan replacement products for meat and dairy have hitched their waggons to chlimate cange a long time ago. They’d obviously very much like to get some of the money, too, and if government could be persuaded to outlaw competing products people preferably buy, this would also help the bottom line a lot.
Just as with COVID, whoever can tries to exploit the scam to further his own agenda, whatever it might be.
“Climate change” is a desperate operation by the western world order to cling on to global power, against the tide of the growing wealth and influence of non western powers.
When you put yourself in the mindset that most of the people in positions of power are sociopaths, everything makes perfect sense.
If you think that people in positions of power are trying to serve the common good, you’re not only completely lost, you’re a useful idiot. Fodder for their cannon.
Anything that seems like serving the common good is nothing more than the temporary and absolute minimum alignment of interests required for the sociopaths to get their way.
Ridiculous. Asia won’t follow the West as it commits economic suicide.
What is “doing an Ali Jaber?”
Blowing a firkin hole in someone’s argument so big that they have no possibility of reply.
Excellent, HP! I’ll have to remember that one!
Thanks Aethelred
Monro. You literally couldn’t make this up! The have yachts on sustainable sailing while telling the rest of us to stay in harbour!
At least Al Jaber has a scientific training (Chemical Engineering), in contrast to most of these climate grifters. Mary Robinson (who I met as a guest speaker at a conference) is an incredibly self important member of The EUOirish elite. Like the old drunk Higgins and others she lives in a bubble sealed off from the chaotic country she has created. Looking forward to seeing her try hard not to patronise Connor McGregor when he enters the fray!
A Conservative sub 60 seats election result will put a lid on this climate nonsense.
Imagine the naivete of people who believe anybody can measure a single temperature for the earth and to 1.5 degrees! Temperatures are infinite and chaotic all over the earth and can vary 10 degrees or more within a 100 mile radius. From daytime to nighttime they can vary 30 degrees. And then to set political goals set on this! Pseudoscience at It’s best.
Two reasons Chris Morrison is my favourite writer here:
Where can I see more of him?
Charring Cross Station, outside WH Smith 4-45 pm Sunday. Will be carrying a brolly, wearing a Ganex raincoat and sporting a red rose.