“The decision at COP28 to finally recognize that the climate crisis is, at its heart, a fossil fuel crisis is an important milestone. But it is also the bare minimum we need and is long overdue. The influence of petrostates is still evident in the half measures and loopholes included in the final agreement. Fossil fuel interests went all out to control the outcome, but the passionate work of millions of climate activists around the world inspired and motivated delegates from many nations to loosen the industry’s grip. Whether this is a turning point that truly marks the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era depends on the actions that come next and the mobilization of finance required to achieve them. We must ask ourselves how much longer will the world have to wait before all nations summon the political will to overcome these narrow special interests and act on behalf of the future of humanity. It is up to all of us to hold our leaders accountable to their promise to transition away from fossil fuels once and for all.” — Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore via X, December 13

“These climate conferences have nothing to do with climate. They’re to do with control of energy systems worldwide. No one is talking about the science of climate. Why? Because there’s nothing to talk about. Our science, geology, has known for hundreds of years that climate change is natural. It’s driven by natural proc­esses. The variability we’ve seen in the past has been far, far greater than anything we measure today. It’s a total absolute non-issue that’s got nothing to do with climate. It’s got nothing to do with environment. It’s all to do with power. And if you have power and money, you can control. And this was an energy conference, not a climate conference.” — Geologist Ian Plimer to Sky News Australia host Cory Bernardi on December 17

“We predicted the whole ritual: the hopes, the claims that time is running out, that this is our last chance, that there will be a deadlock, then that there will be a breakthrough, and then everyone will celebrate the breakthrough, the deal. And then when they read the small print, they tend to realize just how little actually has been achieved. So this has been the annual kind of COP ritual, and COP28 hasn’t disappointed.” — Dr. Benny Peiser of the Global Warming Policy Foundation presented “Reflections on COP28 — Energy Realism Eclipses Climate Alarmism” on December 13

“He’s got to say, ‘We’re all going to die.’ That’s what he should say to open up with.” — Star Trek legend William Shatner said this to Noel Phillips on Good Morning Britain, referring to King Charles’ opening speech at COP28. He continued, “Insects are going extinct. We don’t go around saying, ‘Oh my God, insects are going.’ Who cares? And we stupid human beings don’t even know they existed in the first place.”

“Despite what you’re being told, cold kills some 15 to 20 times as many people as does heat. And that’s the little-known fact they want to cover up. The largest study of its kind showed that 20 times as many people died from cold-related deaths as from heat-related deaths. So what does that tell you? Global warming would save lives. Yet when people hear that, their heads explode.” — Gregory Wrightstone of the CO₂ Coalition to Jim Hale of PBS NewsHour

“One of the difficulties that indigenous people continue to struggle with … is our perspective on our relationship to the sacred — to the sacredness of the creative and the female creative principles of Mother Earth and Father Sky…. And part of that is how humanity views its relationship to what we call the sacred. So when we develop these metrics for understanding the sacred, we’re dealing with another system that doesn’t understand, but doesn’t want to understand. So how do we develop a value system of debate?” — Tom Goldtooth, executive director of Indigenous Environmental Network, speaking at COP28

“The most significant thing of this COP28, happened about a week before COP28, and that’s when a couple of hundred medical journals urged the World Health Organization to declare climate change a public health threat. And the idea here is to bring this under a public health authority. So if you can declare a Covid emergency, or you can declare any kind of public health pandemic, you can now call climate change that…. And that’s why [COP28] is really window dressing for the real power happening behind the scenes.” — Marc Morano, executive editor of Climate Depot, to Laura Ingraham of Fox News

“There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C. Please help me, show me the roadmap for a phase-out of fossil fuel that will allow for sustainable socioeconomic development, unless you want to take the world back into caves.” — Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, president of COP28, in November during a live online event called “She Changes Climate.” Al Jaber is also the chief executive of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil company, ADNOC.

“Well, it’s a recipe for mass suicide. It’s just quite amazing that someone that is in government — actually elected to the government of the United States of America — would propose that we eliminate all fossil fuels in 12 years. This would basically result (if we did it on a global level), it would result in the decimation of the human population.” — Dr. Patrick Moore, former Greenpeace Canada president, on the Green New Deal

“I suppose it was the Almighty’s sense of humor to cover Western Europe with snow while those who flew into Dubai on private jets warned of planetary disasters due to fossil fuels. The United Nations climate conference is and always will be a contradiction, especially when held in a place (the United Arab Emirates) whose wealth is uniquely derived from fossil fuel. England’s King Charles opened the COP28 conference by reminding everyone that we’re going to boil in hell unless we cut down on creating CO₂. I was reminded of the time he flew into central Europe, then as heir to the throne, and with him went a Rolls Royce or a Bentley that did nine miles to the gallon because Charles likes his comforts. Hypocrisy reigns supreme with the Brit King.” — Taki Theodoracopulos writing for Taki’s Magazine