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Newsletter 134 9 November 2021
Is COP26 Failure
A Democratic Failure?
Since the end of October we've been following the pivotal COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in Glasgow (31 October–12 November 2021) - and have temporarily renamed COVID-DEM as CLIMATE-DEM for its duration. Watching COP26 unfold, it has become harder and harder to maintain hope for a transformational outcome. Declarations on deforestation, for example, have been made before, and this time set 2030 as a rather distant target. Leaders of powerful democratic states - including the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and Australia - offer vaunting rhetoric but nothing near the commitments or structural change required. The lack of seriousness is stark. The UK government halved taxes on domestic flights just before COP26 began, while PM Johnson was accused of 'staggering hypocrisy' for flying back to London by private jet rather than take a 4.5-hour train journey. Even worse, the Australian government has sought to use the conference to market its gas - a fossil fuel - and its pavilion is sponsored by the oil and gas giant Santos.
The conference itself has been excessively policed, has excluded civil society and indigenous leaders - damned as 'most exclusionary summit' ever, and the first draft of the Conference's final decision text has been slammed as 'exceptionally weak'. Little wonder that climate activists have lost faith in formal political institutions and leadership - a more fundamental indictment of democratic governments than their authoritarian counterparts, given democracy's claims to responsiveness. The abject inertia and failure of democratic leadership worldwide, and their capture by sectoral interests, has prompted an intensifying wave of anger and frustration. ‘COP26 is a failure,’ 'a Global North greenwash festival,' Greta Thunberg offered as she led protests in Glasgow. Inside COP26, the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley QC, simply asked: 'when will leaders lead?'
However, the grassroots response and criticism shows that a 'democratic green wave' of activists and communities, cities and states are increasingly turning to different methods to address this pivotal challenge. The answer to democracy's failures to tackle climate change remains more democracy: national leaders in many of the world's most prominent democracies could learn much from the real leaders.
In this Update we're highlighting:
- New analyses of the significance of civil activism and inclusive participation in the age of global warming
- Recording of the event 'Renewing Democracy to Tackle the Climate Crisis'
- New Carnegie analysis of how the pandemic has hindered climate action
- Podcasts discussing what success at this year's climate conference look like
- Events coinciding with COP26
- Additional policy analyses of the link between democracy and the climate crisis
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The Role of Revolutionary Activism in
Combatting Climate Change
With COP26 underway, the prospects of forging a global consensus on transformative mitigation strategies to the climate emergency don't look any more promising than they did in previously held rounds of international climate diplomacy. Many countries are falling way short of the goal of holding warming to 1.5 Celsius, global oil demand is again rising, and the Amazon forest is still senselessly being destroyed.
Much of the progress in the fight against global warming, in fact, has been driven by cities and local governments, thanks to grassroots activism led by young activists. Thus, while international cooperation remains key to establish major regulations to avert further warming, C. J. Polychroniou offers that our "last best hope" may be revolutionary activism. The extent to which states will commit to advancing climate mitigation measures for the greater good of the global society appears to depend on the willingness of average citizens to challenge the existing political establishments and the interests that they serve.
C. J. POLYCHRONIOU, ‘Revolutionary Activism May Be Our Last Best Hope to Avert a Climate Catastrophe’ GP Opinion (2 November 2021)
Traditional, local voices, knowledge and participation, particularly of those who are most affected by climate change, must also be better recognised, included and elevated in shaping and implementing effective climate mitigation strategies.
Policy analysis WORLD POLITICS REVIEW, ‘African Voices Speak Out for Climate Justice at the COP26 Glasgow Summit’ (5 November 2021)
Policy analysis OPENGLOBALRIGHTS, ‘Solving the climate crisis together: a message to the delegates at COP26’ (4 November 2021)
Policy analysis WORLD POLITICS REVIEW, ‘More Democracy, Not Authoritarianism, Is Key to Progress on Climate Change’ (4 November 2021)
Policy analysis CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE, ‘Elevating African Voices in Climate Research’ (1 November 2021)
Media analysis Rebecca WILLIS, 'The big idea: Is democracy up to the task of climate change?' The Guardian (1 November 2021)
Blog post Rikki DEAN, 'Some rough, pessimistic thoughts on the political economy problem of climate assemblies' (30 October 2021)
Media analysis Gopal MUKHERJEE, ‘Those affected most by climate change have smallest say over it’ Channel News Asia (30 October 2021)
Media analysis Rafael Jiménez AYBAR, 'To deal with the climate crisis, the world needs more democracy' The Guardian (29 October 2021)
Blog post Krishnendu MUKHERJEE, ‘CoP26 - Will it listen to those affected by global warming?’ Cambridge Core Blog (28 October 2021)
Blog post Minor SINCLAIR, ‘A Turning Point on Climate — And for the Center for Progressive Reform’ CPR Blog (28 October 2021)
Blog post Anthony PAINTER, ‘The public are ready to go further and faster on Net Zero’ RSA Blog (28 October 2021)
ICYMI - Policy Analysis WESTMINSTER FOUNDATION FOR DEMOCRACY, 'Guide for increasing participation in democratic environmental governance' (19 May 2021)
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Watch: 'Renewing Democracy
to Tackle the Climate Crisis'
What are the challenges facing democracy in the climate crisis and how can we solve them? How is policy capture by the polluting industries contributing to inaction on climate change? Watch this panel discussion from 4 November, with Independent MP Zali Steggall (Australian federal parliament; sponsor of the Climate Change Bill) and law and democracy expert Professor Joo Cheong Tham (author of a recent Policy Brief) discussing issues such as short-termism and capture by vested interests, and the structural reforms needed to achieve real action, including a planning state and more inclusive politics. The Guardian's climate and energy editor Adam Morton hosted the discussion, which was jointly hosted by the Melbourne School of Government and the Centre for Public Integrity (CPI), and chaired by by CPI Director Dr Catherine Williams.
Get the main points: Read the Twitter thread from COVID-DEM Director Tom Daly here.
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How is the Turn Inward during Covid
Hampering Climate Action?
"The stress of the pandemic has reinforced nation-first mentalities, deepened inequalities, and weakened the multilateral system. To fight global warming, governments must move beyond thinking in such narrow national terms and re-energize foreign policy as a crucial tool of effective climate action."
Stefan LEHNE, 'What the COVID-19 Pandemic Tells Us About Climate Change and Diplomacy' Carnegie Europe (26 October 2021)
See also:
Bob WARD, ‘There is no planet B: tackling climate change demands a sustainable, inclusive recovery from COVID’ LSE COVID-19 Blog (1 November 2021)
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Podcasts on COP26
With the continual rise in global temperatures and an ever louder climate action army led by young voices, will the outcome of this year's Climate Change Conference be any different? Will world leaders finally drive bold thinking, radical action, and sustainable and inclusive approaches to generate a positive, meaningful agenda and hope for climate mitigation? Have a listen to what the experts/pundits have to say in the podcasts below:
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Additional Events Alongside COP26
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Policy Analysis
Additional analyses of the nexus between democracy and the climate crisis include:
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, ‘Why the Global Climate Emergency is a Human Rights Crisis’ (1 November 2021)
OPENDEMOCRACY, ‘The far Right has moved from climate denial to obstructing climate action’ (1 November 2021)
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, ‘The Climate Crisis is a Human Rights Crisis’ (30 October 2021)
REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS (RSF), ‘Respect the right to cover the environment, RSF and journalists tell COP26’ (29 October 2021)
INDEPENDENT AUSTRALIA, ‘From climate to corruption, the Morrison Government needs to go’ (28 October 2021)
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Stay Updated
#GoverningAfterGlasgow
Stay updated on the Melbourne School of Government's activities through the #GoverningAfterGlasgow hashtag on social media. This forms part of the School's leading work on Governing During Crises since June 2020.
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Climate Crisis is a Democratic Crisis
Every day we work with people worldwide to build this platform for helping us understand how the pandemic is challenging and re-shaping democracy globally, and the many ways we can defend and improve our democracies. We believe, as do many others, that the pandemic presents just a taster of the challenges facing democracies if the climate crisis continues to be met with inaction. Democratic leaders urgently need to show that democracies can lead this challenge by achieving the structural reforms needed for effective action. The pandemic has shown that most democracies can mobilise and act swiftly. Big change is possible: all that's needed now is political will. And if political will continues to be lacking, especially in democracies, the legitimacy of governments worldwide will only continue to degrade.
Dr Tom Gerald Daly
Director
Find out more about Tom here.
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