COP28 Fossil of the Day Awards. Who will be the colossal Fossil of COP28?

The Fossil of the day Daily count for COP28. The best of the worst....

Day	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Mention	Ray of the COP
Dec 3	New Zealand	USA	Japan
Dec 4	Brazil			South Africa
Dec 5	USA	Russia	Japan
Dec 6	Alberta	Norway	South Korea
Dec 8	Israel	Australia	Russia
Dec 9	Europe	Vietnam
Dec 10	Israel			USA
Dec 11	Saudi Arabia
Colossal Fossil	USA			OPEC Russia	Colombia

The Fossil of the Day awards were first presented at the climate talks in 1999, in Bonn, initiated by the German NGO Forum. During United Nations climate change negotiations members of the Climate Action Network (CAN), nominate and vote for countries judged to have done their ‘best’ to block progress in the negotiations in the talks, or in a wider context for actions in their own country at odds with implementing climate action n alignment with the Paris Agreement and its targets..

Below are the CAN International Medias Releases for all the Fossil Awards, available 

This page will be updated daily.

Bowen delivers Australia's national Statement to COP28 stressing renewables path, but it is what was not said on fossil fuels that is crucial

Chris Bowen at COP28

Australia's Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has delivered Australia's National Statement to the UN Climate Conference COP28. There is much to applaud in this statement, and Australia has changed its ambition and domestic and international climate policy positions. 

But it is in what was not said that is equally important.

• Australia is the 3rd largest fossil fuel exporter globally
• Since May 2022 Australia has approved 10 new or extended coal and gas projects.
• Exploration for new oil and gas gields has been approved and is being undertaken, including seismic blasting in offshore marine environments of Western Australia and Victoria
• Australia subsidises Fossil Fuel extraction through the tax system by around $11 billion per year with no plans to phase out these subsidies. There is also a $1.5 billion subsidy for the Darwin Middle Arm petrochemical hub that will enable new LNG processing.
• It was pleasing to see Australia joining the Green Climate Fund and a modest contribution of $50 million and the $100 million to the recently established Pacific Climate Resilience Fund is welcome. But Australia has failed to announce any contribution to the new Loss and Damage Fund established, even though Australia was represented on the Transitional Committee.
• Bowen didn't mention the cap on pollution by Australia's top 215 emitters - the Safeguard Mechanism - relies on these companies ability to buy carbon offset credits in Australian Carbon Credit Units. Many of these carbon offsets have questionable integrity. 
• He didn't mention Australia's Federal Parliament passing Sea dumping legislation which allows carbon capture and storage under the seabed, and 9 days later Santos signed a deal with ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to investiage taking CO2 for sequestration, when most CCS projects have been a failure. 
• The government has refused to release a Climate Security assessment by the Office of National Intelligence, even in a redacted form.
• Government has promised Fuel Efficiency standards, but has yet to deliver, to help decarbonise transport emissions.

Don't misinterpret me, Chris Bowen is heaps better than previous Ministers/Prime Minister who delivered Australia's national climate statement to COP. 

Bowen acknowledged the importance of indigenous knowledge to inform solutions, and acknowledged escalating climate impacts, including drawing attention to current events with 42C temperature heatwave in Sydney while he was addressing the COP plenary. 

More importantly, he acknowledged that while progress has been substantial in the last 18 months of the Labor Government, he is still not satisfied and conceeds there is still much more to do. "I’ll be frank – this is more progress for Australia in 12 months than in 10 years. While I am pleased with this I am still not satisfied. Because there is still so much more to do." he said.

Climate protests in Melbourne culminate in civil disobedience with 72 arrests - a personal statement

Being arrested - Courtesy ABC News

Why I am being arrested in Melbourne CBD today, 9 December, 2023, with Extinction Rebellion – Statement by John Englart. 

I’d like to say a few words why I am disrupting business as usual today, to block the traffic in Melbourne CBD. I am 68 years old and have been concerned about the lack of climate action for 20 years. 

I have written letters and emails, I have signed petitions, I have been on delegations to my Federal MP Peter Khalil, and my former MP Kelvin Thomson. Since 2015 I have attended Merri-bek Council meetings each and every month as a witness for their actions on climate. I have decarbonised my personal carbon footprint by increasing cycling, using Solar PV, eliminating gas from my home, composting, and reducing plastics use.

Whales in Hot Water: The Impact of Climate Change on the Cryosphere’s Climate Engineers: Cetaceans

Whale Pump diagram cycling carbon to deep ocean storage

There are many benefits to conserving whales including biodiversity and carbon sequestration benefits. They are another biological Nature based solution to addressing climate change.

Whale numbers were decimated through the 19th and 20th centuries from commercial whale hunting. Many species are still recovering from this slaughter.

Among the recommendations, is the need to "Accelerate efforts to stop the expansion of new fossil fuel production and commit to a phaseout of existing fossil fuel production in order to reach net-zero by 2050."

Rejecting nuclear path at COP28, Australia focusses on tripling renewables for decarbonisation

COP28 Nuclear Pledge

Australia has continued to reject taking a nuclear path, but supported the Pledge to triple renewables and double energy efficiency, at the UN Climate Conference COP28.

On 2 December  22 countries call for tripling of nuclear energy by 2050. 

The list of nuclear advocates include : Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Ghana, Hungary, Japan, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. 

18 of these nations already have a nuclear energy industry. Only four: Moldova, Morocco, Poland and Mongolia, signed the pledge as countries without nuclear power. A number of countries with nuclear energy industries did not sign the pledge.

On the same day 117 other countries signed a pledge to triple global renewable energy capacity, and double energy efficiency, including Australia.

Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen  said Australia had joined other major energy exporters, including the US, Canada and Norway, in supporting the renewables and energy efficiency push.

“We know that renewables are the cleanest and cheapest form of energy, and that energy efficiency can also help drive down bills and emissions,” he said in a statement. “For emissions to go down around the world, we need a big international push. Australia has the resources and the smarts to help supply the world with clean energy technologies to drive down those emissions while spurring new Australian industry.”

On 23 November Climate Minister Chris Bowen announced 32GW boost to Renewables to meet Australia's 82 percent renewables by 2030 target reports Climate Action Merribek.

Meanwhile Skynews and the Australian are strongly pushing the Coalition Party line on development of nuclear power to address the climate crisis, ignoring the overwhelming economic costs, opportunity costs, and the escalation of costs of living this would bring to Australian electricity consumers.

Dave Sweeney, Nuclear policy analyst, Australian Conservation Foundation said about the Nuclear Push at COP28:

“Pro-nuclear voices have put a lot of money and effort into this CoP to promote nuclear power as a climate response. We don’t agree. Existing nuclear technology is high cost and high risk and new or ‘next generation’ nuclear, including the heavily promoted small modular reactors (SMR’s), is unproven and not in commercial deployment anywhere in the world. We need effective climate action, not nuclear distractions. The Australian experience of communities and First Nations people with the impacts of uranium mining, nuclear testing and waste dumping has shown the gap between nuclear industry rhetoric and lived reality. Our shared energy future cannot be built or based on industry assurances or politicians promises. Renewable energy is proven, popular, safer, cheaper and far more deployable. Our low carbon energy future is renewable, not radioactive.”

Launch of Australia’s first National Health and Climate Strategy at COP28

Ged Kearney MP, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, launched Australia’s first National Health and Climate Strategy at the United Nations climate Conference COP28. 

The Strategy lays out a plan to manage the health impacts of climate change, reduce the carbon footprint of the health system, promote the health co-benefits of emissions reductions, and to collaborate internationally to build sustainable, climate-resilient health systems and communities.

This is the first COP where health is a major theme. 127 nations, including Australia, have now signed a COP28 Declaration on Health and Climate.

Corporate 'Net Zero' BS is all the rage. Top Net Zero Corporates for greenwashing revealed

Influence Map study: Top 5 net zero greenwash companies

New InfluenceMap research published 28 November finds that corporate net zero or similar targets are rarely matched by support for government climate policy, with 58% of almost 300 companies from the Forbes 2,000 list found to be at risk of “net zero greenwash” due to their policy engagement.

Chevron, Delta Air Lines, Duke Energy, ExxonMobil, Glencore International, Nippon Steel Corporation, Repsol, Stellantis, Southern Company, and Woodside Energy Group Ltd are in the top ten dirty greenwashers. They are among the 21.5% of companies assessed to be at significant risk of “net zero greenwash” due to their policy engagement. 

The High Level Expert Group on Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities released its report to the UN Secretary-General at the UN climate talks, COP27, in Egypt in November 2022. The Influence Map uses this as guidance and standards for assessing companies. Read the Climate Citizen report of the launch.

Cryosphere in peril: Calls by Scientists, President of Chile, Prime Minister of Iceland, UN Chief to phase out Fossil Fuels at COP28

Before attending COP28 in Dubai, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres did a flying vist to Antarctica with Gabriel Boric, President of Chile, to see and talk with polar scientists on the changes to the Cryosphere and Antarctica in particular.

 "What happens in Antarctica doesn’t stay in Antarctica. " Guterres said.

"Without changing course, we’re heading towards a calamitous three-degree Celsius temperature rise by the end of the century. That means losing the West Antarctica Ice Sheet almost entirely. This alone could ultimately push up sea levels by around five meters." said the UN Chief.

The International Cryosphere Climate Initiative published its latest State of the Cryosphere report 2023 on 16 November 2023, outlining in 6 detailed chapters covering the changes and impacts of Ice Sheets, Mountain Glaciers and Snow, Sea Ice, Permafrost and Polar Oceans. The report included a forward by the President of Chile and Prime Minister of Iceland calling for a phaseout of fossil fuels to limit damages to the cryosphere, and consideration of the issue in the Global Stocktake at COP28. 

COP 28 climate conference satirical Humour

Okay, I'm going to add satirical humopur to this page as the UN climate conference proceeds...

First up, this entry from Canada: COP 28 LEAKED: Honest Big Oil Ad | The Goose

and of course there is The Juice Media : Honest Government Ad | COP31 🇦🇺 & the Pacific

"We are living through climate collapse in real time and the impact is devastating" UN Secretary General calls for phase out of Fossil Fuels at COP28

Rather than attend the Opening Plenary of COP28, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres provided a video message for the  World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) launch of their Provisional State of the Global Climate 2023 report.   

He carefully summarised some of the main points of the report and said "We are living through climate collapse in real time and the impact is devastating". He called for committing at COP28 to phase out fossil fuels, with a clear time frame aligned to the 1.5-degree limit.

Describing the provisional WMO report, WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taala said, 

“Greenhouse gas levels are record high. Global temperatures are record high. Sea level rise is record high. Antarctic sea ice is record low. It’s a deafening cacophony of broken records,” 

“These are more than just statistics. We risk losing the race to save our glaciers and to rein in sea level rise. We cannot return to the climate of the 20th century, but we must act now to limit the risks of an increasingly inhospitable climate in this and the coming centuries,” he said.  

“Extreme weather is destroying lives and livelihoods on a daily basis – underlining the imperative need to ensure that everyone is protected by early warning services,” said Prof. Taalas.