Life on Earth may not survive into the 22nd century; humanity has no more than 30 years. The Office for National Statistics estimated 4500 heat related deaths in the UK in 2022. Climate change also exacerbates inequalities, and rich people are better equipped to cope with extremes in temperature. They are bound up in calls for WHO to declare the “indivisible climate and nature crisis as a global health emergency” (doi:10.1136/bmj.p2355),12 for divestment from fossil fuels (doi:10.1136/bmj.m167), and for phasing out fossil fuels by means of a binding non-proliferation treaty (fossilfueltreaty.org).121314You might imagine that COP28, charged with saving humanity from climate extinction, would make an unequivocal stand on phasing out fossil fuels. From the veneer of soft loss and damage agreements (doi:10.1136/bmj.p2871) to insincere grandstanding about climate commitments (www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67591724),1718 COP28 is following this script.

Source: The Guardian December 07, 2023 13:48 UTC