Figures Don't Lie but Liars Figure. COP 26 -"A Bit of a Fantasy."

 


A Washington Post investigation finds that many nations are lying about their greenhouse gas emissions.

Malaysia’s latest catalogue of its greenhouse gas emissions to the United Nations reads like a report from a parallel universe. The 285-page document suggests that Malaysia’s trees are absorbing carbon four times faster than similar forests in neighboring Indonesia.

The surprising claim has allowed the country to subtract over 243 million tons of carbon dioxide from its 2016 inventory — slashing 73 percent of emissions from its bottom line.

How in hell could this be going on now. It's COP 26, the 26th climate summit. All these endless negotiations, all these aspirational targets set and routinely ignored, and we now find, thanks to a newspaper no less, that many if not most of the participating nations are gaming their own emissions numbers. 

That's a real confidence builder, innit?

An examination of 196 country reports reveals a giant gap between what nations declare their emissions to be versus the greenhouse gases they are sending into the atmosphere. The gap ranges from at least 8.5 billion to as high as 13.3 billion tons a year of underreported emissions — big enough to move the needle on how much the Earth will warm.

The plan to save the world from the worst of climate change is built on data. But the data the world is relying on is inaccurate. 

[Dodgy data] means the challenge is even larger than world leaders have acknowledged.

“In the end, everything becomes a bit of a fantasy,” said Philippe Ciais, a scientist with France’s Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences who tracks emissions based on satellite data. 

Great, just great. We've been told that COP 26 is our last best chance to avert climate catastrophe. This was our final opportunity to reach meaningful commitments on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Prince Charles branded the Glasgow summit as "literally the Last Chance Saloon" to save the planet. And now this.

At the low end, the gap is larger than the yearly emissions of the United States. At the high end, it approaches the emissions of China and comprises 23 percent of humanity’s total contribution to the planet’s warming, The Post found.




Comments

  1. Owen GrayNovember 8, 2021 at 2:35 PM

    Lying has become as easy as breathing, Mound. There must be a special place in hell for the people who promulgate the Big Lie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibNovember 8, 2021 at 3:52 PM

      Any shooter knows if you're sights are out you may never hit the target. If emissions reported are up to 24 per cent understated our goose may be cooked before it sees the oven. How is it, after 26 years of climate summits, we're still working with unreliable numbers? This sounds like overt subversion of the process.

      Delete
  2. Northern PoVNovember 9, 2021 at 7:44 AM

    No need to blame Malaysia and other distant strands....
    Most fossil fuel operations in remote places (most of them?) ignore current rules. Illegal methane venting/burning for example, is very common from oil wells in Canada. No one is enforcing the current regs. The 'data' COP26 is playing with is garbage - as are the 'solutions' our leaders are creating. The dreaded tipping point is in the rearview.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibNovember 9, 2021 at 10:24 AM

      Not for nothing has "transparency" become a buzzword at COP26. Everyone (or at least many of the participating nations) is bullshitting, bluffing. If we can't trust their numbers now how will it be any different in 2030 or 2050?

      Now we've got a satellite system to scour the world detecting fugitive methane emissions. It will be interesting to see the early results.

      MIT researchers did a street survey of Boston and discovered 3,300 spikes of natural gas leaks. They recorded 5,900 gas leaks in Washington, DC. This was the result of degrading gas pipe infrastructure. https://the-mound-of-sound.blogspot.com/2018/09/we-better-get-used-to-it-because-were.html

      Delete

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