If you have not yet seen this story, then I urge you to read it. As politicians gear up for COP26, an expose of leaked documents reveals just how hard it will be to change the status quo.
Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia and OPEC have pressed to water down a key UN scientific report. Some of the nations most invested in fossil fuels, beef and animal feed production are protecting their interests and lobbying hard to remove phrases that might harm business from the report.
From lobbying to remove mentions that phasing out coal is an important step in fighting climate change, to pressing to delete messages about the climate benefits of promoting ‘plant-based’ diets – a lot of is going on behind the scenes. The leaked documents give us some clues about the thinking that goes on behind closed doors. And are a vital reminder of the forces fighting the changes that we so urgently need to make.
But while there are forces in this world that will continue to press their agendas, we all need to make sure that we step up. We must keep up the pressure and make sure that there is the political will from our elected politicians to make the changes that are actually going to make a difference, rather than just plastering over the cracks and continuing with business as usual.
EWSP Consultancy 