Swamp Rabbit and I were reading news stories about the COP28 summit, where some attendees from around the world are seeking solutions to global warming but many others are just spreading misinformation.

I clicked on a NY Times article and said, “Here you go, this pretty much sums it up.”

Climate activists like Greta Thunberg were targeted by Chinese state media, which accused Thunberg of calling for an end to the use of chopsticks and denounced her as a “Swedish princess” after she pushed for more emissions reductions from China. 

Back in January, Thunberg had looked at the setting for this year’s COP — Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, a major oil exporter — and decided to skip it. She figured the fix was in.

Good call.

Before the politicians and diplomats even got to Dubai, they were fighting over whether to “phase out” or merely “phase down” fossil fuel usage. Many of them say they’re committed to stopping “unabated” fossil fuel usage, but that essentially means they won’t oppose fossil fuel companies that vaguely commit to using carbon capture and storage techniques to offset the pollution they cause. The fact that capture and storage technology is outrageously expensive and far from being perfected doesn’t seem to bother them.

COP28 is a huge event — 84,000 attendees — infested with lobbyists set on protecting the interests of fossil fuel companies and the countries that sponsor them. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and other sincere advocates of wind and solar energy are caught in a bind. They must either play ball with the countries that will use loopholes to avoid full commitment to fossil fuel alternatives — the United States is one of them — or give up on the idea that the world can reach the goal of net zero fossil fuel emissions by 2050.

Kerry was recently put in the awkward position of having to make excuses for Sultan Ahmed al Jaber, the COP28 president, who also heads the UAE’s national oil company. The sultan said there is “no science” supporting those demanding a phaseout of fossil fuels. (This from a guy who’s hosting a summit on global warming!) Kerry said that the sultan’s remarks need “clarification.”

“Okay, I get it, we’re all doomed,” said Swamp Rabbit, who had been listening to me complain that the 28th annual conference of the parties was little more than an exercise in greenwashing. “Why don’t you just admit there ain’t no way clean energy fans are gonna win the war against them moneygrubbers who won’t give up on fossil fuels till all the oil and gas and coal is burned up?”

“Because I’m not quite ready to believe it’s true,” I replied. “And because I don’t want to make you happy by admitting you might be right.”