Biden campaigned on a promise to fight for policies to halt climate change. His envoy, John Kerry, has been on world tours touting American commitments to bring about cuts in carbon emissions. 

But nine months into his presidency, political, legal, and economic obstacles have forced his administration to make several moves in support of fossil fuels development at home and abroad.

Setbacks include a federal judge overturning the administration’s effort to block new oil and gas leasing on federal lands, forcing it to offer millions of new acres for drilling, and rising retail gas prices that have led the White House to publicly ask the global oil cartel, OPEC, to boost production.  The Biden administration has backed lesser-known oil and gas infrastructure projects like Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline from Canada and sped up processing of oil and gas drilling permits. Government data show the administration has approved more than 2,600 drilling permits on onshore leases, a faster pace than during the Trump administration.

Political opposition has forced the administration to put its centerpiece climate proposals that would help deliver an April pledge to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 into a budget reconciliation bill that has an uncertain future in the closely-divided U.S. Congress. Democrats, who hope to pass the bill by the end of September, are already talking about paring back investments and targets.

If  Biden fails to deliver ahead of COP26, many other nations will be reluctant to commit to reducing their own emissions.

Biden’s lofty climate goals clash with political, economic reality (trust.org)

 Dozens of West Papuans seeking independence from Indonesia were tortured, murdered and thrown into the sea 23 years ago. Australia learned the details of the attack, yet remained silent.

The Indonesian government has either denied or downplayed the deaths. Not one person has been charged with the killings. The massacre is not recognised officially and no government or international inquiry has reported on it. 

A newly released, unredacted intelligence report reveals an Australian intelligence officer, Dan Weadon, an Australian military attaché and intelligence officer connected to the Jakarta embassy,  provided the government with compelling evidence just 11 days after the killings that Indonesia “almost certainly used excessive force against pro-independence demonstrators”. The same officer was also handed photographic evidence by West Papuans on Biak, at great risk to their safety. The photos were distributed to his superiors, but never saw the light of day. Evidence suggests they have since been destroyed by the defence department, despite consistent calls for a proper investigation into the atrocity.

‘Killed like animals’: documents reveal how Australia turned a blind eye to a West Papuan massacre | Australian foreign policy | The Guardian

 Climate crises will hit Africa the hardest and extreme weather events caused by global warming are already affecting the poorest and most vulnerable people on the continent. The 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released 9 August 2021, explained that global warming has been more rapid in Africa than the rest of the world, despite its carbon emissions being almost negligible in comparison with all the other nations. But what energy sources Africa produces is based on extracting and burning fossil fuels.

Half of Africa’s population of 1.2 billion, do not have access to the most basic electricity supply while almost 900 million rely on traditional biomass and simple stoves for cooking such as charcoal or propane gas cylinders and where electricity may be available it is often unaffordable.

Friends of the Earth Africa have published an informative study called “A Just Recovery Renewable Energy Plan for Africa” that holds many lessons.

Layout 1 (foei.org)

Africa has enough renewable energy sources available for solving energy poverty, creating jobs and reducing emissions, according to the report. Africa has excellent solar resources and other renewable sources that can be easily harnessed to provide enough electricity for its population’s needs. African coastal areas have particularly good wind resources. There are geo-thermal sources located in the Rift Valley. These and other methods of energy can provide 300GW (equivalent to Africa’s energy poverty gap) of clean wind and solar renewable energy by 2030, raising to over 2000GW by 2050. 

The Friends of the Earth Africa make some insightful observations:

“System change means building alternatives to replace the current system, not simply trying to fix it. The way we manage, extract, use and distribute the Earth’s natural resources under the current dominant economic model has put us on a path towards ecological and social crises. We need system change – a new model of environmental, social, political, economic and gender justice – and we need to build the power of the peoples.”

“Everyone should have the right to energy. It should be a common good and not a commodity. The sun and the wind are shared resources that should not be exploited for corporate gain. Our energy system should not be run for profit but should exist to meet the needs of the peoples”

“Energy production and use should be owned and controlled by the people, for the people.”

“Decisions about the production and use of energy need to

be democratic, participative, open and accountable and respect the rights of communities to define their energy needs and how these needs are met in accordance with their cultures and ways of life, as long as these choices do not have destructive impacts on other people and communities.”

The downside of the energy proposals is that it still all depends upon the goodwill of governments and their allocation of money to finance the new future energy scheme. Of course, it is possible for global corporations to end their tax evasion, for African governments in cooperation with the international community to impose and enforce new taxes and for the banks as well as the developed nations and their banks to cancel Africa’s debts. Local African governments could adopt the recommendations of the Friends of the Earth Africa study.

However, the primary concern that motivates businesses and governments is profit. Without the promise of a lucrative return, investment, no matter how socially necessary or worthy, does not happen.

Friends of the Earth Africa has shown what is feasible and practicable but it will take a socialist society to implement it.

 “No one has been here since the earthquake. Just like before, the only time we see an outsider round here is when they want our votes,” says Altema Jean Joseph, a 52-year-old farmer who grows vetiver, an ingredient used in expensive perfumes which, despite costing $25,000 (£18,000) a barrel, makes farmers only $4 a week. “So why would we expect them here? 

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Haiti on 14 August killed more than 2,200 and left 30,000 homeless.  Many rural Haitians see an all too familiar abandonment. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, where nearly half of the 11.4m population is food insecure. But the poverty in which rural Haitians – who make up two-thirds of the population – live is startling, even by the country’s own abject standards.

“Haiti has always been divided between an urban professional class and the ignored rural communities,” says Estève Ustache, 58, a researcher on rural development attached to a Methodist church outside Jeremie.

Communities live in shacks built partly from material scavenged in the city. The phone signal is unreliable, and aside from a handful of community-built wells, there is no water supply.

“Everything we have, we built ourselves,” says Moise Magaly, “I don’t know why no one comes for us. We’ve contacted the media and our representatives but we’ve heard nothing.”

“It’s a very poor area, where people don’t have the resources or the funds for materials to build their houses well,” says Kit Miyamoto, a structural engineer who runs a firm and foundation that works in Haiti and around the world to improve earthquake preparedness. “And this is a forgotten disaster because it happens out of the eyes of the world, which means there will be less funding.”

‘A forgotten disaster’: earthquake-hit Haitians left to fend for themselves | Global development | The Guardian

 United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has warned that a failure to cut global emissions is setting the world on a “catastrophic” path to 2.7 degrees Celsius heating. That would unleash far more devastating effects than those already battering countries around the world, from fatal floods to wildfires and storms.

“Overall greenhouse gas emission numbers are moving in the wrong direction,” UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa said. “It’s not enough, what we have on the table.”

New UN analysis said that under countries’ current pledges, global emissions would be 16 percent higher in 2030 than they were in 2010 – far off the 45 percent reduction by 2030 that scientists say is needed to stave off disastrous climate change.

Nations responsible for about half the world’s emissions have yet to set tougher emissions-cutting targets this year. China, India and Saudi Arabia are among them. Brazil and Mexico submitted updated pledges that analysts said would cause higher emissions than those countries’ previous targets.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Friday it was likely that wealthy countries missed a goal to contribute $100bn in 2020 to help developing nations cope with climate change.

World on ‘catastrophic’ path to 2.7C warming, UN chief warns | Climate News | Al Jazeera

 The World Socialist Movement (WSM) has always argued that when it comes to socialism solving the climate crises, allowances must be made to uplift the poor (including those inside the so-called affluent countries) and provide them with a decent living standard. It may mean economic growth when our long-term aim is still to decrease production levels albeit we expect it to be compensated with reductions in socially unnecessary and ecological wasteful manufacturing and services such as military and the buying and selling sectors. For the undeveloped and developing countries, economic growth is urgent and crucial for their populations’ well-being.

New research, published in Environmental Research Letters, studied deprivation and calculated the energy required to provide “decent living standards” (DLS) to all – including to build the infrastructure to reach those that still lack them. Their conclusion is that the increase in energy provision required for poverty eradication does not, in itself, pose a threat to mitigating climate change on a global scale.

“The good news from recent research is that essential energy needs to meet everyone’s basic needs, framed as “decent living standards” (DLS), could constitute a small share of projected energy growth…”

On a global scale, it would require roughly a quarter of projected world energy demand by mid-century. In order to provide DLS for all by 2040, energy provisioning for basic needs in some poor countries would at least have to double by 2030 and triple by 2040, even if all energy growth were directed solely towards poverty eradication efforts.  The construction of new buildings and transport infrastructure are the biggest factors in providing new services. 

To fill the gaps in basic provision would require an extra 68 exajoules (EJ) of energy on a global basis, or about another 5 gigajoules (GJ) per person on average. These figures can be compared with the current total global energy demand of more than 400EJ and the average per person of about 55GJ. The construction of new buildings and transport infrastructure are the biggest factors in providing new services. This construction energy, at about 12EJ per year, is, however, much smaller than the annual needs to operate services on an ongoing basis.

The research shows that current global energy consumption is already, in principle, sufficient to provide everyone with a decent life. But this will happen only if there is a stronger focus on providing the energy to serve basic needs rather than growing affluence.

The authors explain, “Our research shows that current global energy consumption is already, in principle, sufficient to provide everyone with a decent life. But this will happen only if there is a stronger focus on providing the energy to serve basic needs rather than growing affluence.

For instance, while global energy supply under pathways that limit global temperature increase to 1.5C is more than enough to provide for basic needs, as well as some affluence, projected DLS [decent living standards]energy needs for some regions and countries can go up to or exceed half of the total. (Faster energy efficiency improvements would reduce this ratio.)

Together, this means that while eradicating multidimensional poverty is compatible with ambitious climate targets, it does likely require a shift towards more equitable energy, climate and development policies, both within and between countries.”

Decent Living Standards: Material Prerequisites for Human Wellbeing | SpringerLink

Decent living gaps and energy needs around the world – IOPscience

 UN chief Antonio Guterres said, “I believe that we are at risk of not having a success in COP26.” 

It is at risk of failure due to mistrust between developed and developing countries and a lack of ambitious goals among some emerging economies.

Guterres explained, “There is still a level of mistrust, between north and south, developed and developing countries, that needs to be overcome. We are on the verge of the abyss and when you are on the verge of the abyss, you need to be very careful about what the next step is. And the next step is COP26 in Glasgow.”

There is now a 40 percent chance that average global temperature in one of the next five years will be at least 1.5C (2.7F) warmer than pre-industrial levels.

On Monday, Guterres and Boris Johnson will host a meeting of world leaders on the sidelines of the annual high-level week of the UN General Assembly in a bid to build the chances of success at the climate conference.

“We need the developed countries to do more, namely in relation to the support to developing countries. And we need some emerging economies to go an extra mile and be more ambitious in the reduction of air emissions,” Guterres said and he continued, “Until now, I have not seen enough commitment of developed countries to support developing countries … and to give a meaningful share of that support to the needs of adaptation,” said Guterres.

Glasgow climate summit at risk of failure, UN chief warns | Climate Change News | Al Jazeera

 Politicians and industrialists have been keen to adopt environment-friendly language in their media statements with lots of promises and pledges that their governments and corporations intend to change to solve the climate change crisis. 

But the new analysis, by Climate Action Tracker, finds almost every country is falling woefully short of their policies to meet what they agreed to in the 2015 Paris climate accord. Every one of the world’s leading economies, including all the countries that make up the G20, is failing to meet commitments made in the landmark Paris agreement in order to stave off climate catastrophe. This means the world is still on course towards calamitous climate impacts.

Climate pledges made by Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia are “critically insufficient.

Australia, Brazil, Canada, China and India are among those deemed “highly insufficient”.

The US, the European Union and Japan are ranked as “insufficient”.

The UK  is “almost sufficient”.

Combined, all these countries make up 80% of global emissions.

Only The Gambia has made commitments in line with the 1.5C Paris goal.

Even countries with strong climate targets are not on track to meet them, while international finance for poorer countries to help cope with the climate crisis is falling short. If current practices continue, the world is on track for nearly 3C in warming.

“An increasing number of people around the world are suffering from ever more severe and frequent impacts of climate change, yet government action continues to lag behind what is needed,” said Bill Hare, chief executive of Climate Analytics, a partner in the new study. “While many governments have committed to net zero, without near-term action achieving net zero is virtually impossible.”

Coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, is still being developed on a large scale by India and China, the report found, while gas infrastructure is being expanded by Australia and the EU.

Jennifer Rokala, executive director for the Center for Western Priorities conservation group, pointed out, “Vision is nothing without action.”

Governments falling woefully short of Paris climate pledges, study finds | Climate change | The Guardian

Almost daily we have reports from experts that detail the damage being done to the planet by the climate crises and the destruction of our environment. Yet governments procrastinate. They postpone policies rather than act immediately. Governments do what capitalism wishes. The first concern of the capitalists is for profit, and what remains very profitable at the present time will not be eliminated. The capitalist system is built upon the accumulation of capital, which means a need for growth. Contracting the market when there is still scope for returns to shareholders will not be on any board of directors business agenda.  There can be no answer to the various climate crises while production-for-profit persists. What is required is a cooperative commonwealth based upon human needs. The fact that we are at the edge of an abyss will not influence investors. They will reluctantly accept a number of reforms if their expectation of financial gains is not threatened. They will happily sell shares in the declining value of fossil fuels and buy into green industries. There is nothing that capitalism cannot fix with money is the mistaken belief held by so many of the ruling class.

 “If market solutions naturally greened the world, we wouldn’t be where we are. Clearly, there’s been a market failure.”

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary

 UK government, Olivier De Schutter, the UN-appointed rapporteur on extreme poverty, said, “It’s unconscionable at this point in time to remove this benefit,” he said, adding the decision to cut universal credit – which was boosted last year to help people get through the pandemic – was based on a “very ill-informed understanding” of its impact on claimants.

Cutting universal credit by £20 a week breaches international human rights law and is likely to trigger an explosion of poverty, the United Nations’ poverty envoy said.

“For these people, £20 a week makes a huge difference, and could be the difference between falling into extreme poverty or remaining just above that poverty line … If the question is one of fiscal consolidation to maintain the public deficit within acceptable levels then you should raise revenues, not cut down on welfare at the expense of people in poverty.”

There was plentiful evidence showing millions of people would struggle to afford food and pay essential bills as a result.

‘Unconscionable’ universal credit cut breaks human rights law, says UN envoy | Universal credit | The Guardian