How much specific, tested, and corroborated evidence does it take? How many scientists, reports, case studies, first-hand evidence, and testimonies?  How many record temperatures, wildfires, storms, and loss of familiar species are needed?

Why is the gap between what we say we want and must do and our real-life behaviours and policies so incredibly wide?  Why do we continue to assert we ‘love’ our children, our land, our way of life while resisting even the least demanding changes that would ensure their future and their well-being?

The evidence is clear and conclusive, except for a miniscule group of ‘sceptics’ and deniers.  Since 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has undertaken five full and comprehensive ‘assessment cycles’ and has delivered five detailed reports.  Based on the analysis of these reports and the work of literally tens of thousands of qualified researchers, the IPCC has issued a number of stark warnings about the pace and impact of climate change.

Similarly, the latest report (October 31st, 2022) from the World Meteorological Organisation argues that simply tweaking our social and economic systems ‘is not going to get us to a climate resilient future’. Instead, we need ‘transformational changes... everything from our food to our energy to transportation, but also our politics and our society.’

The issue of the need for very fundamental change has been debated once again at COP27 in the past few weeks and while some very limited (but not fundamental) progress was achieved the meeting refused to officially discuss any such transformational changes.

Climate justice advocate and former Irish President Mary Robinson argued in the wake of COP 27 that the world ‘remains on the brink of climate catastrophe’. While we have made some progress on cutting carbon emissions, she argues that progress has been far too slow even though we are ‘on the cusp of a clean energy world’. 

António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, has added ‘Our planet is still in the emergency room. We need to drastically reduce emissions now – and this is an issue this COP did not address. The world still needs a giant leap on climate ambition.’ 

Discussion and debate at COP 27 made it clear that we now face a ‘make or break decade’ on climate change.

The power of those opposed to any ‘real’ deal on climate change was once again exposed at COP 27.  The fossil fuel industry spared no expense or strategy (fair and foul) to block effective action.  With almost 1,000+, highly paid lobbyists at the meeting, their job was simple and wholly negative – stall, deceive, cover up and ensure its ‘business as usual’ but with a little enhanced greenwashing. 

In this, they were effectively supported (often behind closed doors) by the majority of world leaders from the rich and most environment-damaging countries.  Hundreds of thousands (millions?) of words spoken all in the service of ensuring no fundamental change.

Our prime minister dusted down his woeful UN General Assembly speech, added a light sprinkling of references to sustainability and the future and insisted Malta was ready to ‘do its bit’.  Anyone with even a passing interest in things environmental in Malta will realise immediately how dishonest his COP 27 speech was. 

In the face of all the evidence, far too many of us continue to insist (intone) that while we agree change is needed that change has to be ‘theirs’ and certainly not ‘ours’ and certainly ‘not now’.  A glimpse of this zero-sum worldview can be seen in many of the comments on a Times of Malta article on COP 27. Deeply unserious, conspiratorial, ethnocentric, and rapidly heading towards racism. 

Much of this debate is about justifying doing nothing.  Malta is tiny, there is nothing we can do, even if we….   The problem is self-evidently the Chinese, the Indians, the Americans…everyone else but us.

We refuse to recognise our privileges and the responsibilities that accompany them.  We are members of that rich world (just look around) and also members of a generation that has a clear, evidence-based knowledge of where we are headed.  As many commentators have also pointed out we are also a generation with the capacity to make urgently needed changes, should we so choose.    

But then, as highlighted by Malta’s many environmental activists, how do we even begin to be concerned about environmental vulnerability, change and unsustainability at the global level when we are not yet sufficiently bothered about the environment immediately around us? 

It seems the dominant truth for far too many is that when it comes to addressing climate change, our knee jerk response is to cop out.  We know what we need to do but we consistently refuse to do it.