As we approach another UN Climate Summit the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) have challenged the merits of addressing global concerns on this issue through the current process. Speaking on this, the organisation’s national president Pheilim Molloy questioned how holding an event for a possible 50,000 delegates, many of which will have to fly into Brazil, will help reduce carbon emissions.
It is, Molloy stated, “incredible to think that those attending cannot see the blatant hypocrisy of flying into Brazil to discuss how to reduce carbon emissions.” Flights from Europe to Brazil have, Molloy explained, “an average CO2 equivalent of approximately two metric tons per passenger for a one-way flight (based on London to Rio CO2 emission of between 1.8 and 2.3 metric tons per passenger).”
This, he added, “for a return flight works out at an average of 4tons per delegate flying to the conference from Europe. Of course, there are many that will travel further and a good number that will not be taking an economy flight.”
However, working on a conservative estimate, we can he continued, “assume that there will be at least 40,000 delegates flying into the conference, which at an average of 4 metric tons of CO2 per delegate works out at 160,000tons of CO2.
While there are those that will defend this, pointing to agreements reached at previous COP events, Molloy stated how “for the ordinary person that could be struggling to keep ahead of rising costs often driven by increased carbon taxes, these conferences are seen as nothing more than an enormous gravy-train populated by people detached from reality.”
This detachment from reality is he continued “best illustrated at this year’s summit which is held in the northern city of Belem. In order to get delegates to the summit, a new motorway is being built that cuts through the Amazon rainforest.” The development of an eight-mile six-lane motorway through the Amazon rainforest, which is home to about 800 species of animals, plants and fungi, is, Molloy stressed, “at odds with what most would see as good environmental policy and opens the door for additional and justifiable ridicule for all those delegates and heads of state attending the summit.”
In bringing it back home, the INHFA leader highlighted how here in Ireland, we continually see many of our politicians and environmental campaigners push the narrative that we are not doing enough on climate change and biodiversity loss. There is also a huge issue as 56% of the world’s polluters will not sign up to reducing GreenHouse gases. As we look at the destruction of possibly the most important forest in the world in order to facilitate a discussion on climate change, Molloy questioned “how many politicians and environmentalists have called this out, but even more concerning, how many are willing to ignore it and attend this year’s event.”