Humphrey CarterPalma19/12/2019 09:44
TW
0

Everyone is agreed that the Madrid climate conference was a failure. The build up was not exactly great. Firstly, it should have been held in Chile, but was moved at the last minute due to ongoing civil unrest. Secondly, Spain, as media commentators across the world pointed out, does not have a very good record at hitting United Nations set targets and has been reprimanded on numerous occasions but the European Union for its short comings with regards to tackling climate change. And thirdly, the conference was sponsored by a power company.

Down town in central Madrid, protesters were making their voices heard while bringing the city centre to a standstill for the best part of two weeks, costing Madrid council and local businesses millions and in the convention, the envoys from some 200 countries (I presume most came by plane) were unable to agree on how to move forward. A few sidebar conventions were reached but when it came to the bigger topics on the agenda, primarily implementing the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, everyone agreed to disagree.

The clock is ticking and future generations are facing a stark outlook. Young people are worried, so too are their parents but we can all do our bit to help. I think it’s time to stop protesting, everyone’s got the message, and be proactive. Recycle, be aware of our carbon footprint, travel responsibly, the list is endless. So let’s get on with it. It’s not new, the BBC made a sitcom about sustainable living in the 80s, The Good Life.