With the COP16 climate-change summit underway in Cancun, the scaremongering over global warming is reaching preposterous new heights as so-called “leaders” warn of humanity’s impending doom — unless, of course, all nations agree to global carbon taxes and other statist measures.
“The disasters caused by climate change are threatening the survival of human beings,” proclaimed Mexican President Felipe Calderon, known as “His Excellency” among climate dignitaries and U.N. bosses, during a speech at the summit. He cited a hurricane, a fire, and a drought — phenomena that have plagued mankind for thousands of years prior to the invention of SUVs — as evidence of his claims.
“We should try to promote the progress between the people and nature and shorten the gap between the developed nations and poor countries with financial support and technological support,” he added, proposing unprecedented wealth redistribution on a global scale. Calls for more climate money from “rich” countries were a prominent part of nearly every speech.
Meanwhile, a coalition of more than 40 island nations is claiming that, without big money and drastic regulations, it will be “the end” for them. “We are facing at this moment the end of history for some of us,” claimed Antonio Lima, vice-chair of the Alliance of Small Island States. “All these countries are struggling to survive. They are going to drown.”
The solution, according to an alliance representative who spoke at the summit Tuesday, is more money. “We need to dramatically increase funds for the smallest and poorest of us,” he said.
Various third-world regimes were busy demanding money not to chop down their forests, too. And Bolivian “President” Evo Morales called on nations to fight the “battle between capitalism and life” through coordinated action of “social movements” and governments. Without a strong agreement in Cancun, he said, global warming “will keep getting worse.” On his wish list is a Climate Tribunal to bring “climate criminals” to “justice,” and of course, more money.
Powerful global statist groups also ramped up the fear mongering before demanding more money for “climate justice.” The supposed “need” for at least $100 billion per year in a “Green Fund,” for example, was emphasized in a statement released by Socialist International — an immensely influential organization that counted Obama’s “Climate Czar” Carol Browner among its leaders until she left to join the new administration.
“Participants expressed concern over knock-on effects of climate change, such as water and crop shortages, food security, poverty, climate migrants and those displaced due to natural disasters, together with the political consequences which follow,” explained the statement. “In this regard, dedicated funds for affected countries were seen as necessary.”
International climate bigwigs — whose salaries depend on global-warming hysteria — were also out in force spreading gloom and doom. “[I]t seems to me that many negotiators lack the sense of urgency that is needed to make the right decisions, which in a multilateral framework cannot be taken without some compromises,” Vice-Chairman Jean-Pascal van Ypersele of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change told Business World. “We only have one inhabitable planet in the solar system, some seem to forget that.”
And the UN’s “Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food,” Olivier De Schuetter, warned of imminent starvation without more climate loot for dictators. “Negotiations starting today in Cancun are crucial to guarantee the right to food for hundreds of millions of people,” he said.
“Cancun should lead the way towards a ‘Green Marshall Plan’ for agriculture,” he added. Based on the discredited IPCC report, he claimed the “disastrous” effect of “climate change” could lead to another 600 million starving people by 2020.
Of course, no article about hysterical fear mongering would be complete without mentioning Al Gore, one of the Earth’s chief climate alarmists and, ironically, one of its largest emitters of carbon dioxide. He has been busy flying around the world comparing climate change to global terrorism.
“There was severe drought in Russia and extreme flooding in Pakistan. What more evidence is required for action?” he wondered at a leadership summit in India, once again pushing the idea of a carbon tax or a “cap-and-trade” system as his massive monetary investments in the schemes continue to go sour.
Other climate bosses — perhaps realizing the futility of constant doomsday forecasts in light of a new study pointing in that direction — are using a new ploy: pretending that “climate solutions” will be good for business and the economy. “Those in the end who improve energy efficiency and improve innovation, they will save money,” said European Union “climate commissioner” Connie Hedegaard. Those who do not could be surpassed by competition from communist China, she warned a conference in Brussels.
But if enough people realize what the alarmists are pushing — and the poor quality of the “science” underpinning global-warming theories — all of the billions invested by governments and climate profiteers in climate scams could go up in smoke. After Climategate and a long series of scandals plaguing alarmist institutions and scientists, attentive followers of the issue can see the writing on the wall. For people like Al Gore and other climate crusaders, however — with fortunes and reputations riding on alarmist theories — giving in will not be easy.
Photo: Mexico’s Nobel Chemistry Prize laureate Mario Molina delivers a speech at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, Nov. 29, 2010: AP Images