EDITORIAL: Let’s face it, COP26 is a farce

There’s no two ways about: The annual international climate gabfest currently going on has descended into a farce.

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26 has become a joke. It’s rightly being derided in many corners as something of an international laughingstock, and that growing reputation is well-deserved.

Why do we said that? The evidence abounds. Take your pick.

The conference in Glasgow this year has seen a massive number of jets descend upon Scotland’s airports. For a group of people who supposedly want to reduce global emissions, this may be one of the most emissions-intensive events of the year.

Speaking of the past year and a half: While the pandemic has thankfully receded in most Western nations, aren’t we still being encouraged to avoid excessive travel? Political leaders certainly encourage that approach. If only they would lead by example.

Then there’s the fact that not even its attendees seem all that interested in it. U.S. President Joe Biden appeared to fall asleep during part of the summit. We must say, we agree with Biden’s assessment: Climate gabfests are a real snore.

When Biden did awake from his slumber, he took some time to lambast China and Russia for not being there. Doesn’t that render the event kind of meaningless if a major emitter like China doesn’t participate?

The most frustrating part of COP26 is that it’s basically all about rich elitists getting together to talk about how they’re going to make life more difficult for regular people by jacking up the cost of living.

Our own Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jumped the shark there – announcing the need for a cap on oil and gas sector emissions as well as calls for global carbon pricing.

Let’s call for a hard pass on both of those bad ideas. And let’s stop taking these gabfests as seriously as we do.