Masked power play: CoPs are places for grandstanding and inane statements

Carbonisation is driven by consumption. The more we consume, the more carbon is generated. But by design, CoPs are consumption blind

Climate Conferences of the Parties (CoPs) never fail to amuse, but inane statements by global leaders and grandstanding by activists mask a power play that seeks to defend an extractive economic system that is essential to the survival of the current world order and the contingent balance of power.

Carbonisation is driven by consumption. The more we consume, the more carbon is generated. There are two ways to tackle this problem. The first is to cap aggregate consumption at a level compatible with a maximal carbon budget. The other is to use technology to produce less carbon per unit of