In the United States, coal, that supervillain of fossil-fuels, is in a death spiral. But on a global scale, there’s no spiral, just an arrow pointing to Asia. Turns out coal isn’t dying; it’s moving.
The United Nations climate talks went into record overtime and then ended in failure on Sunday. The countries gathered in Madrid for COP25 were unable to agree on the main objectives of the negotiations and kicked the most important decisions down the road to next year’s meeting in Glasgow, Scotland.
Members and allies of Climate Action Network Canada made the following statements at the conclusion of COP25:
Catherine Abreu, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada:
“You know something is broken when those demanding climate justice are pushed outside of the climate conference - as hundreds were this week - and those delaying climate action are allowed to stay inside.
Protests led by Indigenous leaders shut down the main hall of COP25 in Madrid on Wednesday. In an unprecedented event, about 500 people stormed the area outside the high-level negotiations decrying the lack of action by assembled governments to address the climate emergency.
Climate activists have found plenty to be angry about at this year’s UN climate talks, which are scheduled to conclude in Madrid tonight. From youth groups to indigenous people, civil society has been more riled than in previous years, as the disconnect grows between momentum on the streets and the slow progress of the negotiations.
You’ve been hearing there's a global climate summit happening in Madrid this week. If you’re wondering what these international negotiations are and whether they have been making any progress, you’ve come to the right place.
Every year, the countries of the world get together and try to figure out what to do about the accelerating climate emergency. In United Nations jargon, it’s called a “Conference of the Parties,” which is why you’ll hear it described as “COP.”
[Editor: This is a good interview well worth listening to in full. Monbiot finally declares that capitalism is the problem in dealing with climate change!]
![The Khadia open pit mine is 27 km long. Workers loading coal into trucks work in hazardous conditions wear no protective equipment and accidents are frequent. Photo by: international accountability project. Flickr [CC BY 2.0]](https://ecosocialistsvancouver.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/article-image/12227000925_f2549129a2_c.jpg?itok=ZQWYdfQK)
