Amid the Cop27 greenwashing, UK energy policy is driven by hard-headed business
Whatever one might think about Greta Thunberg’s now overtly anti-capitalist diatribes, she is right about one thing at least: the much anticipated Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh is indeed mainly about “greenwashing, lying and cheating”.
Even if further commitments on emissions are somehow cobbled together, delegates will, having roundly congratulated themselves on their international juncketing, inevitably return to their countries as if little has been agreed and carry on much as before.
Faced with unforgiving geopolitical and electoral realities, well intentioned promises will be quickly watered down or ignored entirely, as indeed they have been in virtually all the Cops so far.
If the world does eventually make the transition to zero carbon, it is much more likely to be driven by technological advance than inter-government planning and instruction.