The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference: An Uphill Battle For Environmentalists?

Despite of promises that a “new deal” could be reach, does the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference just represents another uphill battle for dedicated environmentalists around the world? 

By: Ringo Bones 

With a climate change awareness rally in Paris, France swiftly dispersed by law enforcement agencies concerned in the name of anti-terror laws a few days ago no thanks to the recent Daesh terror attacks, many now are wondering whether the scheduled 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference that will take place in Paris, France from November 30, 2015 to December 11, 2015 is nothing more than a mere “environmental lip service” for the world’s powers-that-be as opposed to a genuine global platform to discuss pressing climate change issues. Despite of the promises, it not only highlights the uphill battle faced by environmentalists around the world with genuine climate change concerns but also of developing nations unable to wean themselves from large scale fossil fuel use because energy companies – especially those based in the United States that are run by conservative right-wing Evangelicals – are using politics, religion and even economics to maintain the status quo of large scale fossil fuel use. 

The “Paris Climate Change Conference” is the 21^st yearly conference where all of the world’s nations and their representatives gather to discuss on climate change issues. Philippine President Benigno Aquino, III is scheduled to attend the Paris climate conference but he admitted in a recent interview that despite of the Philippines being seriously affected by climate change, he sill gave the green light for the construction of 23 large scale coal fired power plants in the Philippines to meet the country’s current energy needs because the captains of industry in the United States has kept the costs of large scale wind turbines and solar photovoltaic and solar thermal energy generation schemes out of reach of developing countries like the Philippines. The same complains are also voiced by India and the African country of Malawi. 

Even though US President Barack Obama is attending the “Paris Climate Change Conference”, it is also unlikely that he will successfully initiate climate change policies that are as revolutionary as those reached by the 1960s era civil rights movement in the United States because almost all politicians in the United States are beholden by big fossil fuel corporations. Even Pope Francis’ recent environmental concerns are labeled as “leftist” by the right-wing Evangelicals running the big fossil fuel corporations in the United States.