Free-market Environmentalism, and More

Published in Sustainability Voices on November 8, 2022 https://sustainabilityvoices.co.uk/cop-27-and-the-next-steps-on-climate-actiona/ The recent turmoil in global energy markets resulting from the war in Ukraine have placed significant strain on the path towards keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees, the only way to avoid catastrophic climate change, and the central goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement. Some countries have not been able to avoid the temptation to return to burning coal in response to the shortage of gas supplies, a hydrocarbon that emits half the amount of carbon dioxide when compared with coal, and therefore a key fuel on any path for energy transition towards the 1.5 target as recognized by the IPCC. So, where are we now, and what are the prospect for COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh? Importantly, COP 27 marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiated in 1992 at the Rio Conference. Instead of a clear occasion for ...

Published in Sustainability Voices on August 22, 2022 https://sustainabilityvoices.co.uk/a-sustainable-development-path-for-qatar/ With less than six months to go until Qatar makes history by becoming the first Arab country to host the FIFA World Cup, the Gulf state is increasingly under the spotlight. Its efforts to deliver a World Cup that sets new benchmarks for social, economic, and environmental standards run the risk of being overshadowed by a cacophony of criticism that often relies on standards and frameworks that fail to accurately portray the progress being made. On sustainability, for example, widely quoted international metrics place Qatar among the world’s worst offenders. A commonly used ecological footprint measurement considers Qatar as having one of the largest “biocapacity deficits” in the world, meaning that it is using its renewable natural resources beyond their regenerative capacity. The country is also condemned for having the highest greenhouse gas emissions per...