'COP28 deal was an agreement from the world to behave - just not yet'
The world has agreed to behave – but like St Augustine, not just yet.
Two hundred nations attending the COP28 conference in Dubai signed a landmark declaration to move away from oil, gas and coal.
However, this ambitious agreement is merely a transition, with no timetable and no sanctions against countries that carry on burning. The whole pious process reminds me of Augustine, the fourth-century saint who famously prayed, “Lord give me chastity and continence, but not yet.”
Reliance on fossil fuels will actually increase over the next two years, at least, and environmentalists decry the Dubai deal as inadequate.
They would. They always do. Nothing the developed world, but particularly the UK, can ever do or promise is ever good enough for the tree-huggers. “Copout28”, they deride the latest initiative. In fact, the outcome of the UN summit is about as good as could be expected.
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The agreement may not be legally binding, but it sets a course for the world to follow. Britain’s £400million programme to boost the hydrogen fuel industry, announced yesterday, may be seen as the first fruits of Dubai.
The deal will not satisfy low-lying countries in the Indian and Pacific Oceans most threatened by rising sea levels, because the richer countries won’t spend trillions making them safe and paying for past pollution of the atmosphere.
But, again, it has opened the door to reparation and reconstruction. Developing nations should push on with it, not dismiss the opportunity. This is the richer nations saying “We will be generous, but not yet”.
I wonder if St Augustine ever achieved chastity. The chances of Britain achieving total decarbonisation of the economy by 2050 seem about as fanciful.
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BBC bosses have limited next year’s rise in the TV licence to £10.50, bringing the cost to £169.50 from April.
This is a burden to many pensioners, millions of whom (like me) were robbed of their over-75’s free licence by Tory ministers.
But at a cost of £14 a month, I still think it’s value for money for such a wide variety of programmes, especially compared to the commercial stations.
Where else would you get brilliant news reporting, Doctor Who, Shetland, Match of the Day or Strictly Come Dancing? Only the Beeb covers the entire spectrum.
But there is a dark side. More than 47,000 people, mainly women for reasons I don’t understand, are fined every year for failing to pay.
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It’s too many, but decriminalisation is not the answer. Abolishing that sanction would destroy the Beeb as we and the world know it, which is why the Tories keep promising to do it.
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Willy Wonka film star Timothée Chalamet thinks Hull has the sexiest accent in the UK. What a wonka. I assume this is just Hollywood hype, because he’s never been here, or been wooed by a lass from Yorkshire. The city council has invited wonky Willy to pay a visit. He should beware the old thieves’ prayer: “From Hell, Hull and Halifax, Good Lord deliver us.”
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