Rick Whitbeck: Why Dubai’s COP28 should be called ‘Council Of The Pointless’

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By RICK WHITBECK | POWER THE FUTURE

Unless you’re a climate warrior or an energy wonk, you probably weren’t aware of the recent 28th edition of the “Council of the Parties,” better known as COP28, held this year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Don’t be surprised if you weren’t one of over 84,000 delegates – more than double the previous record – who got an invite. It’s probably because you are not a raging hypocrite. COP28 attendees spent the better part of two weeks in deep discussion over the “existential threat” of a so-called “climate crisis,” and how the world needs to respond before it is too late to save the planet from imminent doom.

When you add to the expansive delegate count the thousands more non-delegate support staff, media, climate-warrior groupies, and casual onlookers, the ultimate outcome is that over 100,000 people – who all claim to love Mother Earth more than anything – felt the need to inundate Dubai rather than jump on Zoom sessions or conference calls to discuss how to save the planet. Remember, Zoom is good enough for kids locked out of schools, but not good enough for climate junkets.

Delegates spent two weeks in Dubai staying in 5-star resorts, feasting on gourmet meals, drinking top-shelf alcohol, being driven around in stretch limousines, “laboring” in air-conditioned conference facilities, and engaging in unknown debauchery when not working to rid the earth of traditional energy solutions, like coal, oil, and natural gas.

When not engaged in extracurricular activities, COP28’s delegates created a bunch of work-product to justify their junket.

First on the menu, pun intended, was an effort to cancel meat. Keep in mind, they just want to cancel your holiday meal, not their own. Then, the delegations pledged hundreds of millions of dollars toward helping developing nations impacted by the “crisis.” Forget that these dollars will never be used to help those nations grow their GDPs nor their energy independence; instead, the World Bank will administer the money to the ruling class in those countries. What could possibly go wrong giving more money and power to the elite?   

The most celebrated output from COP28 was a final agreement calling for the “beginning of the end” of all fossil fuel development. This “global stockade” – signed by delegations representing more than 200 countries is, according to the United Nations, the vehicle by which “[p]arties take actions towards…the phase-down of unabated coal power, phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and other measures that drive the transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner…”

Let’s take this in for a minute: 84,000 delegates spent two weeks living in luxury, and their takeaway was that fossil fuels – which, between coal, natural gas, and oil power over 80% of the world today – are the enemy of the planet?

News flash: none of the climate hypocrites, COP28 delegates, would be meeting in Dubai in the first place without fossil fuels. None of them – not a single one – made it there, stayed there, communicated to their home countries, families or each other while there, enjoyed their lavish lifestyle while there or made it home from there without direct or byproduct use of fossil fuels.

So, the next time you hear about the good work being done at the COP events – and make no mistake, we’ll see COP29, COP 39, COP49, and so on – remember that they are giant parties designed to bring powerful, wealthy ideologues together to rage against the very products that have made their powerful, wealthy lives possible.

COP should stand for the “Council of the Pointless.”

Rick Whitbeck is the Alaska State Director for Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs.  This column first appeared at the DailyWire.com.

15 COMMENTS

  1. I dare say that Mr. Whitbeck has no qualifications whatsoever that permit him to speak authoritatively on the subject of climate change/climate science. What he does have, however, and what fuels his motivation, is a paycheck provided by oil and gas interests, and a ready outlet for his blather, courtesy of Must Read.

    Those of us who seek out proper opinions will turn to credentialed scientists, physicists, and researchers.

    • Hans, I completely agree we should listen carefully to “credentialed scientists, physicists, and researchers.” A good start would be the excellent description of the last IPCC report carefully read and unpacked – with exhaustive references to research – by one of Obama’s science and energy ministers: “Unsettled (What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, And Why It Matters)” Or at least take the easy route and watch a few YouTube featuring him. Truly enlightening to hear what he concludes about the current popular panic approach and the disingenuous claptrap masquerading as “the science.” Another great resource is “Apocalypse Never…” written by a dyed in the wool climate activist who has personally sacrificed more than most in an effort to improve the world and the lives of people who desperately need it. And if you think those “credentialed scientists, physicists, and researchers” who are screaming the loudest about how you and I and the poor of the world must use less energy and pay much more for what we use are not on the take – you are not paying attention.

      • I don’t care how many people they lineup to whine about the climate changing. I will never agree that impovershing the US is a necessary activity to achieve any miniscule change in the trajectory of the climate.

    • “Those of us who seek out proper opinions will turn to credentialed scientists, physicists, and researchers.”

      In other words, those (like you) who lack critical thinking ability and self-discernment will blindly believe in the propaganda of corrupt and self-serving establishment mouthpieces. Just as you did, and do, believe all the egregious false propaganda surrounding the Wuhan Virus and the mRNA (non-)vaccine that was spoon fed to you by the powers-that-be.

      Hans, your arrogance is exceeded only by your cluelessness.
      But that is true of every radical leftist, as you are all lemming-like clones of each other, wallowing in the exact same ignorant but self-righteous groupthink.

  3. We have our own hypocrite control freaks in the form of Anchorage assembly ! If we stopped using all petroleum powered equipment today, would the natives be able to carry on their subsistence lifestyle ? Have all the people involved lost their minds and not realize we have nothing in place capable of getting us through freezing cold winters and extremely hot temperatures in the form of alternative energy sources ?
    Anybody with common sense would know we are not ! We have no means to pilot the airwaves or the seas commercially without petroleum powered planes and boats !
    Like always it is never thought through by the left and we struggle.
    How about putting the infrastructure and alternative powered equipment in operation before we phase out petroleum powered equipment.
    We can’t put the cart before the horse and expect to make it work !

  4. Here our very own senator Murkowski attended that event. I’d like to see her provide a copy of the agenda and what was discussed to her constituents. We are all inquiring minds and we want to know! Thank you for sharing this information with us Mr. Whitbeck.

  5. I couldn’t have said it any better myself. Just like the protesters that get together to protest fossil fuels. How did they get there?

  6. The “climate change” narrative is most definitely not a scientific agenda, it is a political one and has always been such. One World Order sociopaths needed to create a problem so big & so catastrophic that individual nations could never hope to solve it by themselves. Only the New World Order sociopaths are capable of coping with the problem. At least that is what they hope the peasants will believe! This is all about control. Unfortunately, the world has no shortage of morons.

        • Fish. Your case appears to be an admission of science denial. You favor unfounded conspiracy nonsense over meteorological data. So yes, your case is rested and you can go back to tending your eggs.

    • You clearly see the truth of the matter, FFF.

      But even worse than the world having no shortage of morons, is its equal surplus of pro-establishment lackies, sheep and sycophants. Those are the “people”, like Hans Litten above, who I will never, NEVER understand.

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