It’s the killer detail in international climate talks: Consensus. Consensus is frequently used to weaken efforts to curb climate change and experts say that’s by design, dating back to oil interests and the first United Nations climate negotiations. The only previous time United Nations climate even raised the issue of a phase-out of a fossil fuel was two years ago in Glasgow, Scotland. Depledge and Gore said it is possible to change negotiation rules mandating near-unanimity, weirdly enough with less than a consensus. The trouble is that most countries are afraid of voting to change consensus rules because they fear that someday they will be on the wrong end of a vote, Depledge said.

Source: The Herald December 11, 2023 09:06 UTC