Fossil fuels have finally been named as the driving cause that must be abandoned in the official COP text.
Hi there! Britt here, freshly back from the UN climate negotiations known as COP28. It was truly historic that COP28 did mention fossil fuelsin the final text and the need to “transition away” from them. That’s huge! No former COP process had ever achieved that kind of clarity about the culprit in the final agreement. But the wording leaves room for dangerous interpretations, and we now need to push even harder to make sure that the call to phase out fossil fuels by mid century is strengthened.
If you’ve been feeling angry about the fact that a climate science shrugging oil boss in a petro state was presiding over the UN climate negotiations, and that the outcome delivered is far weaker than what is needed to align with the science, know that your outrage is productive. It is a sign that your sense of being morally transgressed is alive and kicking, and is itself a renewable resource for taking action in ways that may protect wellbeing.
Licypriya Kangujam holds a banner during the summit session at COP28. Image credit: Joshua A. Bickel/AP Photo & Thomas Mukoya/Reuters. Design by Gen Dread.
Without drastic change, the additional societal costsof mental disorders caused by climate-related hazards, air pollution and lack of access to green spaces is estimated to reach $47 billion by 2030, and a whopping $537 billion by mid century because at the end of the day, climate inaction equates to unbearable levels of stress and trauma. Young people know this. The moral injury and institutional betrayal they feel for being caught up in a system that is not doing what the science says must be done to protect their futures, at a time when there were more fossil fuel lobbyists just sent to COP28 than delegates from almost every country, is why some are refusing normative pressures to be polite and telling fossil fuel executives like Exxon’s Darren Woods to their face that they can eat shit.
The era of climate courage is upon us, and taking part doesn’t only look like disruptive protest, nor does it necessitate quitting what you’re doing to join some imagined puritan movement. Climate courage has its place in every activity because the climate crisis is a threat multiplier that touches everything in society. Everyone is able to engage with it from where they’re already standing. And we need to remind our leaders at every opportunity to take care of the simple actions first. For instance:
“When you’re in a hole, the first thing you have to do is stop digging.”
This is a no nonsense phrase that I picked up at COP28, from Oil Change International campaign manager David Tong. We need to phase out fossil fuels and stop the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure now like our lives depended on it, because they do.
A studyin The British Medical Journal suggests that 5.1 million people a year already die due to the burning of fossil fuels from the air pollution they cause alone. That doesn’t even count climate related deaths from extreme temperatures, disastrous weather events, new viral transmissions, or food and water shortages that the climate crisis is exacerbating.
Plucking this madness out at the root before that statistic balloons in the years ahead is what the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty lays out to achieve: it’s a global effort to stop all new fossil fuel infrastructure expansion in ways that are equitable and fair and in line with the science. You can lend your support as an individual or organization here.
And just in case you need to hear this, yes we’re all climate hypocrites now, and we all benefit from fossil fuels because they uphold the world that we’re living in yet need to transform. Don’t let the lack of a squeaky clean personal emissions track record stop you from taking a strong stand on the right side of history. Own your imperfection. Own that sense of incompleteness. This movement is quite simply about love and life. You are already more than enough.
This week, we’re making space to hear from our readers about how the whole COP28 process has left them feeling. Let us know in the thread below!
We're collaborating with our friends at Climate Youth Resilience who are mapping the uses of contemplative practice in support of climate resilience. If you work in a youth organisation or are a resource provider to emerging adults (ages 16 – 30) working in the climate space, we need your input! By filling out this survey, you will help CYR make the most effective contributions both in relation to resource provision and policy development. We welcome global North, global South, Indigenous and queer voices to ensure that any resource development is context-sensitive.
If the COP became a virtual conference the fossil fuel interest would lose power and a lot of travel related emissions would be prevented. 100,000 attendee is ALOT of travel for next to nothing benefit.
From your experience covering COP, do you think it makes a difference for leaders and activists to meet each other in person? Does it personalize or humanize the plight of those who are being the most impacted by climate change?
I do genuinely believe that the strength and depth of connections made between activists of multiple generations who would not otherwise likely be working together, and heads of research institutions that are pushing for fossil fuel phase out because they are rooted in, say, health and wellbeing, and policymakers and lead negotiators from the various countries who attend and business people and politicians --- truly all of these people are the kinds of folks you meet at COP --- would not be possible on Zoom. It's unfortunate but so far we haven't figured out the whole "catch someone as they are getting off stage and meet them for 5 minutes and make a connection that might change the trajectory of your work or campaign" capacity of zoom. Plus the emotional strength that is fostered of being in the same space with so many other people who care, that just isn't emulated through a screen, and being able to have meals together or have a drink, etc, that's where a lot of the collaborations are fostered. Plus the negotiators themselves stay up until the wee hours of the night quibbling over word choice, they huddle in rooms together where stuff can be debated at length, it just isn't the same.... Then there's the demonstrations which of course are much more effective as an embodied experience with sound, sight, full body feeling, etc. Lots to say. But I went to COP not to cover it as a journalist, instead I went with my stanford researcher hat on to participate in the inaugural Climate + Health Day that had never before happened at any COP and it was amazing to see the official climate + health declaration get made, and the first climate + health ministerial, and oodles of health events over the entire event, and I presented our work with colleagues to build a global research and action agenda for climate change and mental health with the Wellcome Trust: https://www.connectingclimateminds.org/. Being able to see all the traction for climate and health mitigation and adaptation projects up close did feel me with a lot more optimism than I was possibly expecting to feel.
My apologies, I've not been on Substack for weeks so I just caught your generous response. Yes, this tracks. Since Covid, we've been having our co-op board meetings on Zoom, and there's often bickering or resentment, but when we met as a group, we all got along much better! That's a very micro example, but it made me think about the humanizing factor of face to face, how it opens space for greater understanding and compassion--whereas we are all aware of how vicious people can be with each other on social media. But the optics of everyone getting on a jet plane to travel to some far off place to discuss the climate, or protest the elites who are discussing the climate.... it's a dilemma. Maybe if there's a track record of face to face meetings, then more can be done online together....
Thank you for detangling the cost/benefits of in person 🙏🏽 I travelled to Paris COP21 with an indigenous-led Arts Activism project and wrote a daily diary for YES magazine. The phenomenal impact of being with activists - especially indigenous folx from Global South - changed me forever. Love your focus on mental health. This piece leaves me newly inspired to jump back into the fray.
I want to share with my Dreadhead community that I met a tech entrepreneur in a breakout session today who wants to hear more about this “climate mental health initiative (we’re) up to” 😊. I presented your 10-10,000 study in that session Britt! I talked about you and how I am an ambassador for Gen Dread.
We have made tentative plans to meet, and it would be my 68th meeting on sustainability. It is so nice when I get that request, rather than me making it.
Among many questions today, I was asked to “describe a moment I knew to take a different action towards a great life but didn’t”. My answer was not taking action to understand what had happened to me psychologically (4 years ago) when the sustainability crisis was dumped on me in professional terms I couldn’t deny, but initially did. I didn’t have the tools to understand my feelings then. I didn’t have you in my life. I didn’t have this community.
Your ambassadorship means a lot, Sidney, and it's amazing to see the way you're sharing climate psychology and insights from our work with other professionals. Thank you for being here.
I really appreciate this comment. <3 I’m trying. I have found 2 local support groups this year. One is a gathering of painters, and the other is a climate change book club. ‘Gen Dread’ is always with me. Thank you.
Sultan Al Jaber, the CEO of the United Arab Emirates' national oil company, is also the leader of the COP 28 negotiations. What on earth did anyone expect could be achieved?
There are many essential industries , such as steelmaking, where fossil fuels are nearly impossible to replace. Carbon capture and storage can't be scaled up enough to make a dent in global emissions.
This outlook that "the world is coming to an end because of climate change!" and "I am losing my grip and my mental health because of climate change!" now designates CAPITALISM as the great evil and designates ever-changing dates rolling forward when the world will end if nothing is done to end the burning of fossil fuels. The climate catastrophists keep having to change their end date.
Just because they say "transition away" doesn't mean a dam thing. They have all the power to do what's required but they will NEVER EVER do it PERIOD. We are being sacrificed at the alter of golden parachute. The whole COP is nothing but an spectacle sport for the rich.
I like how Michael Poland from the Fossil Fuel Treaty put it in a post-COP campaign email:
"the outcome text is once again littered with loopholes designed to encourage fossil fuel expansion, an entire clause on ‘transition fuels’ (aka gas) and dangerous distractions like carbon capture and storage often used to justify new coal, oil and gas projects...there are loopholes so large you could drive a coal truck through them."
If the COP became a virtual conference the fossil fuel interest would lose power and a lot of travel related emissions would be prevented. 100,000 attendee is ALOT of travel for next to nothing benefit.
Very much feel you on this critique of meeting in such large numbers with so many flights and not taking the virtual alternative seriously.
From your experience covering COP, do you think it makes a difference for leaders and activists to meet each other in person? Does it personalize or humanize the plight of those who are being the most impacted by climate change?
I do genuinely believe that the strength and depth of connections made between activists of multiple generations who would not otherwise likely be working together, and heads of research institutions that are pushing for fossil fuel phase out because they are rooted in, say, health and wellbeing, and policymakers and lead negotiators from the various countries who attend and business people and politicians --- truly all of these people are the kinds of folks you meet at COP --- would not be possible on Zoom. It's unfortunate but so far we haven't figured out the whole "catch someone as they are getting off stage and meet them for 5 minutes and make a connection that might change the trajectory of your work or campaign" capacity of zoom. Plus the emotional strength that is fostered of being in the same space with so many other people who care, that just isn't emulated through a screen, and being able to have meals together or have a drink, etc, that's where a lot of the collaborations are fostered. Plus the negotiators themselves stay up until the wee hours of the night quibbling over word choice, they huddle in rooms together where stuff can be debated at length, it just isn't the same.... Then there's the demonstrations which of course are much more effective as an embodied experience with sound, sight, full body feeling, etc. Lots to say. But I went to COP not to cover it as a journalist, instead I went with my stanford researcher hat on to participate in the inaugural Climate + Health Day that had never before happened at any COP and it was amazing to see the official climate + health declaration get made, and the first climate + health ministerial, and oodles of health events over the entire event, and I presented our work with colleagues to build a global research and action agenda for climate change and mental health with the Wellcome Trust: https://www.connectingclimateminds.org/. Being able to see all the traction for climate and health mitigation and adaptation projects up close did feel me with a lot more optimism than I was possibly expecting to feel.
My apologies, I've not been on Substack for weeks so I just caught your generous response. Yes, this tracks. Since Covid, we've been having our co-op board meetings on Zoom, and there's often bickering or resentment, but when we met as a group, we all got along much better! That's a very micro example, but it made me think about the humanizing factor of face to face, how it opens space for greater understanding and compassion--whereas we are all aware of how vicious people can be with each other on social media. But the optics of everyone getting on a jet plane to travel to some far off place to discuss the climate, or protest the elites who are discussing the climate.... it's a dilemma. Maybe if there's a track record of face to face meetings, then more can be done online together....
Thank you for detangling the cost/benefits of in person 🙏🏽 I travelled to Paris COP21 with an indigenous-led Arts Activism project and wrote a daily diary for YES magazine. The phenomenal impact of being with activists - especially indigenous folx from Global South - changed me forever. Love your focus on mental health. This piece leaves me newly inspired to jump back into the fray.
and could the same effect or results (or lack thereof) come from doing this virtually?
And yet, even with everything that I've said above, we do need to figure out how to move more of these annual gatherings to virtual settings.
I want to share with my Dreadhead community that I met a tech entrepreneur in a breakout session today who wants to hear more about this “climate mental health initiative (we’re) up to” 😊. I presented your 10-10,000 study in that session Britt! I talked about you and how I am an ambassador for Gen Dread.
We have made tentative plans to meet, and it would be my 68th meeting on sustainability. It is so nice when I get that request, rather than me making it.
Among many questions today, I was asked to “describe a moment I knew to take a different action towards a great life but didn’t”. My answer was not taking action to understand what had happened to me psychologically (4 years ago) when the sustainability crisis was dumped on me in professional terms I couldn’t deny, but initially did. I didn’t have the tools to understand my feelings then. I didn’t have you in my life. I didn’t have this community.
Thank you for being at COP28.
And thank you all.
Your ambassadorship means a lot, Sidney, and it's amazing to see the way you're sharing climate psychology and insights from our work with other professionals. Thank you for being here.
I really appreciate this comment. <3 I’m trying. I have found 2 local support groups this year. One is a gathering of painters, and the other is a climate change book club. ‘Gen Dread’ is always with me. Thank you.
Sultan Al Jaber, the CEO of the United Arab Emirates' national oil company, is also the leader of the COP 28 negotiations. What on earth did anyone expect could be achieved?
There are many essential industries , such as steelmaking, where fossil fuels are nearly impossible to replace. Carbon capture and storage can't be scaled up enough to make a dent in global emissions.
This outlook that "the world is coming to an end because of climate change!" and "I am losing my grip and my mental health because of climate change!" now designates CAPITALISM as the great evil and designates ever-changing dates rolling forward when the world will end if nothing is done to end the burning of fossil fuels. The climate catastrophists keep having to change their end date.
That should tell you something.
Curious, what dates have you noticed changing?
Just because they say "transition away" doesn't mean a dam thing. They have all the power to do what's required but they will NEVER EVER do it PERIOD. We are being sacrificed at the alter of golden parachute. The whole COP is nothing but an spectacle sport for the rich.
I like how Michael Poland from the Fossil Fuel Treaty put it in a post-COP campaign email:
"the outcome text is once again littered with loopholes designed to encourage fossil fuel expansion, an entire clause on ‘transition fuels’ (aka gas) and dangerous distractions like carbon capture and storage often used to justify new coal, oil and gas projects...there are loopholes so large you could drive a coal truck through them."