No jobs and no economic prosperity on a dead planet

A man stands among flooded cars piled up in Valencia, Spain last month. (Picture: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

It has been three years since the annual climate conference was hosted here in Scotland. I remember the hope and optimism, but actions have fallen significantly short of the agreements. In Glasgow, world leaders agreed to work towards capping global temperature rises at 1.5°C and a watered-down plan to “phase down” instead of “phasing out” coal usage following lobbying and late interventions by some of the largest polluters.

Since these agreements, global coal consumption reached an all-time high in 2023 due to rapid growth in China and India, whilst declining in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries like Australia, America, Canada, Mexico and here in Britain. It will also be announced at conference that 2024 is the hottest year ever recorded and our temperature rise has even hit the 1.5°C ceiling.

Our world is burning around us, and COP continues to deliver greenwashing and PR instead of strict agreements enforced by economic consequences. The disastrous US election result means that the world will soon return to being led by a climate change denier who rejects collaboration and has threatened to close the door on America’s involvement in repairing the earth.

In his previous presidential reign, Donald Trump scrapped the historic Paris Climate Agreement and vows to withdraw from it even quicker the second time around.

Executive orders to immediately increase US drilling and mining capabilities are said to have been written up and are waiting to be signed come his return to the White House. With a battle cry of “Drill Baby, Drill!” on his recent campaign, Trump will end the Biden ban on Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) exports long before any conclusions have been reached about its environmental impact.

What we need now is the global community to come together in recognition that we have no choice and that there are no jobs and no economic prosperity on a dead planet.

The decisions made now aren’t only going to impact our future, they are already hurting us here and now. Extreme weather events hit more countries, more dangerously every month, the Spanish delegation can point to the devastating scenes in Valencia just last week. With the Scottish Government having already missed its own 2030 climate targets, it’s clear that words are not enough and that we need to redouble our efforts here in Scotland. Whether in Baku or in Holyrood, we need climate leadership and we need it now.

​Lorna Slater is Scottish Green Party co-leader