For the first time ever, there is language on fossil fuels in the final COP agreement!
+ A short poem for those who might feel tired and exhausted in the COP28 aftermath
COP28 has come to a close and after a lot of push from various sectors, the climate change culprit — fossil fuels — has finally made it to the table.
“Nearly 200 countries at the COP28 climate summit have agreed to a deal that, for the first time, calls on all nations to transition away from fossil fuels to avert the worst effects of climate change.”
But is it enough?
A lot has happened in Dubai in the past two weeks. Yet, most feel there should’ve been more.
We now have a loss and damage fund (yay!) but the committed capital is only 0.2% of what’s needed to cover the cost of climate-related damages in developing countries. We need more.
50 oil and gas companies pledged to cut methane emissions to almost zero by 2030 (great) but worked hard to exclude terms like “phasing out” fossil fuels from the final script. Although fossil fuels are finally on the chopping board, the language around it is still vague, and many worry that loopholes can be found.
Scientist Bill Hare, Climate Analytics, to The Guardian:
“Overall, the text looks like a major victory for the oil and gas producing countries and fossil fuel exporters.” He says the major problems with the text are:
no commitment to phase out fossil fuels
no commitment to peak emissions by 2025
text [on carbon capture etc] that opens the door to false solutions at scale
text which refers to “transitional fuels” is code for gas and has been promoted by gas exporters
But no matter how we view this COP (a huge win or a collection of shortcomings) we cannot give up! And that is what I’ll make this week’s newsletter about. I wasn’t at COP28 so I’m not the best person to report on the outcomes. For that, I’d gladly point you in three great directions:
Instead, I want to share a chapter from my book that I think serves well right now. It’s called: “Scary AF” (Yes, as fuck) and is about how even in the bleakest and most hopeless of times, the show must go on. Not only that, but you must keep showing up — for you and the movement.
Scary AF
A chapter from The Climate Optimist Handbook.
Sometimes things get scary AF. You feel like the world is closing in on you, and it gets hard to breathe.
At least I feel like this sometimes, and I ask myself why the hell I’m even trying.
Why do I try to make things better? Why do I believe? The world is clearly headed in the wrong direction and there’s no way in burning hell that I — tiny little me — will be able to change that.
I feel like an imposter, a fake, a joke worth laughing at. Only I don’t want to laugh. I want to cry. I want to scream from the bottom of my lungs and silence myself forever, all at the same time.
Sometimes I feel like I want to hurt myself because the pain would be easier to take than this, less difficult to deal with than the bottomless despair of not knowing.
But then, something turns. Something deep inside stretches out a hand and says, “Stop it. It’s all in your head. The stories you tell yourself right now, they’re not real.”
Are they, or are they not?
I am hesitant enough to listen, unsure enough to seek more. I want to know the answers. I want to find the curiosity to explore again.
What if there is something better? What if we are headed in the right direction? What if I am making a difference?
Maybe all I have to do is take a deep breath and…just be — be in the chaos. Exist in the stillness. Believe no matter how messy things look on the surface, a dance is happening somewhere, and I need to find my way back to that dance, immerse myself in the rhythm of change, and be one with the chaos and wonders.
Inside the dance, there’s no right or wrong, only play. Inside the dance, there’s no space for shame, blame, or hate — I’m too busy keeping up with the dance steps.
I want to be immersed in that dance forever, curiously seeking the next step, but I do have days when I’m tossed to the sideline, and all I can see is the chaos appearing before my eyes. On those days, I’m exhausted, but I allow myself to have those days too.
I tell myself it’s okay to live with a bit of worry, anxiety, and fear, because those, too, are credible feelings.
But then I dust myself off and move back into the crowd because I know I’m not done dancing. Life is a dance and a journey I’m not willing to retire from, so I will keep at it as long as I live. My moves may change over the years, but I’m pretty sure there will always be room for me somewhere on the dance floor.
Because I’m not done living. And I’m not done seeking. And I will never be done believing that there are more, deeper, and better things out there worth looking for.
Allow yourself to have those days — the days when things are scary AF. But then dust yourself off and get back to the dance floor because we need you in here with the change and chaos.
Almost 2024…
I honestly can’t believe how fast time flies. I can’t believe I’ve been a mother for over a year. Or that my book has been out for over a year. Or that I’ve now spent almost a decade on the other side of the Atlantic.
The one thing I do believe is change. In fact, for every day I spend on this earth, I get more and more accepting and trusting of change. Next week I’ll send out a final newsletter for this year and I promise it’ll be a special one. Until then, make sure to give yourself a breather after a big year and yet another nerve-wracking COP!
We’re not done dancing so let’s dust ourselves up and get ready for more. The journey towards a just, equitable, and sustainable world continues!
Lovely post. Important reminder: "I tell myself it’s okay to live with a bit of worry, anxiety, and fear, because those, too, are credible feelings."
With out God all languages will fall.