Climate Politics Hypocrisy At COP24 In Poland

Rebecca Hersher’s story on NPR this morning about the COP24 meeting in Poland is illuminating about both climate politics and their shortcomings. When the U.S. delegate, Wells Griffith, commented that "The reality is that countries will continue to use fossil fuels,” the hall filled with laughter, some of which the reporter noted appeared contrived. Considering the meeting was being held in Poland’s coal country, the hypocrisy of the laughter seems undeniable.

For all that Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and Donald Trump are accused of tribal politics and demonization of opponents, the same approach is often embraced by climate activists. As the figure below shows, the U.S. has reduced its coal consumption much more rapidly than COP24 host Poland and even Green hero Germany. While the Trump Administration’s attitude towards coal consumption is hardly defensible (at least to moderates like me), the overwhelming attention given to whether or not the Administration “acknowledges” climate change or accepts the scientific consensus reflects the tendency of the media (and their consumers) to focus on the political game rather than the actual situation. For their part, activists seem far more concerned in scoring points against their opponents than achieving anything meaningful.

Coal Usage (mtoe)THE AUTHOR FROM BP DATA

But also the focus on whizbang tech stories instead of the reality on the ground is somewhat distressing. There has been coverage of the fact that, despite all the promises made over the last two decades, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, and coal use is a primary culprit. Yet the media gives overwhelming priority to renewable energy such as solar in their reporting. Using Google search of news stories for Chinese and Indian solar power versus coal consumption finds the ratio for China is 20 to 1, for India 150 to 1. Yet China uses 20 times as much coal as solar power, and India about 100 times, in other words nearly the reverse of the news stories. The figure below shows the numbers, as well as the fact that, yes, in 2017, solar power use increased in China three times more than coal use, which certainly explains some of the added media coverage (in India, solar power increased negligibly compared to coal).

Source

Solar versus Coal, the Reality and the Media in China and IndiaTHE AUTHOR FROM GOOGLE AND BP DATA.