AMLO: Climate Paris Agreement has become nothing more than demagoguery

Lopez Obrador explained that so far the Paris agreement has been nothing but demagoguery.

So I took to investigating  what encompasses the Paris agreement  and what it has achieved so far. What I found is that it is mostly focused on creating businesses opportunities and they are very proud that they have created a new market, in which they said at the recent event posted on their site, and I quote, “share examples of how business can seize new opportunities and gain profit advantages with competitors through a circular economy.”

As  for reducing CO2, a long-term commitment, not much if anything has been done by countries— only commitments on paper, but nothing significant has been implemented since the agreement was signed in 2015.

Further exploration leads to the main focus of the Paris agreement, the focus seems to be the creation of New Markets for businesses to profit from while, simultaneously, tries to impose a new modus operandi called “circular economy“.

When instigating what this circular economy entails, you will end up back at business creation and profit growth for the energy sector mostly. The Second sector of focus benefits the automobile industry sector in developed countries. And another sector that benefits greatly is the investment sector since this new instrument created by the Paris agreement generates a lot of speculation in the market where investors are making a killing.

Lastly, The Paris agreement makes no mention of forestation programs, instead asks underdeveloped countries to accept financing and loans from developed countries, and to use global energy companies to enter their respective energy sectors.  Then, there is the demagogue, heart-warning speech of recycling, which we all know relates to sending plastic garbage to third world countries– dumped in landfills–not sustainable at all.

It also uses the concept of RE-USING and refurbishing; meanwhile, many developed countries like the U.S., have allowed corporations to ban the right to repair electronics, cars, farming equipment (tractors)….The monopolization of electronics an equipment by corporations is so pervasive that movements have emerged to demand the right to repair–all the result of the neoliberal economic model enacted in the 1980s. Even NGOs have joined “the effort,” one example is the NGO Sitra who hosted the Virtual Climate summit. “Sitra functions both as a think tank and as an investment company. Sitra was founded in 1967 as a part of the Bank of Finland. However, most of the value of its current endowment comes from a donation from Nokia stock”: wikipedia.

At a high-level meeting, the U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, corroborates AMLO’s statement on how the Paris Agreement has become only demagoguery and no action. Espinosa recently said at a virtual Climate meeting, “We urge all parties [countries]— especially major emitters— to look at how in the coming months they can increase their ambition and reflect this in new or revised NDCs. We simply cannot afford further delay on our current pathway.”

Conclusion, President Lopez Obrador is right, the Paris Agreement seems to be no more than yet another great idea that was taken over by neoliberal politics and priorities, and it’s currently nothing more than demagoguery, because trying to construct a “circular economy” on top of the neoliberal economic model only leads to a repeating loop.  Mexico, on the other hand, since 2019, has implemented the largest forestation program in the world (Sembrando Vida), with the aim of planting 3 billion trees in Mexico and Central America. So far it has planted 700 million tees since 2019. In addition to that, the President announced this week that Mexico is reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by reducing their fossil fuel production from 3.4 million barrels of oil a day to 2 million barrels a day, only for internal consumption– while suspending exports. This is more than Mexico’s commitment under the Paris Agreement.

Sources:

The Paris Agreement | UNFCCChttps://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement

Shifting to a Circular Economy Essential to Achieving Paris Agreement Goals | UNFCCC https://unfccc.int/news/shifting-to-a-circular-economy-essential-to-achieving-paris-agreement-goals