Reporting, some questioning and analysis by Mathew Carr
Nov. 17, 2024 (Baku Azerbaijan) —
It was 28 minutes into this press conference about ending fossil-fuel subsidies that the Uganda reporter (I assume he’s a reporter as only reporters are allowed in the room) asked Dutch climate minister Sophie Hermans why the expansion of oil exploration can’t be stopped in Africa — as global crude producers scale back operations in Europe.
It’s worth checking out.
Sophie had her head in her hands trying to answer. She blamed Uganda for its industrial policies …which is gaslighting I think…at least in part. Blaming the victim.
Yet Hermans is one of the few politicians in Baku willing to be subjected to awkward press scrutiny.
I asked her here below how the fossil fuel subsidies are being included in the negotiations for a global “quantum” for climate finance … see from 3.50 minutes in the audio below (I left her Dutch answers in there, which I don’t understand, for any Dutch readers who may want to listen –please email mathew@carrzee.net to tell me if she said something cool in Dutch.)
“Companies are working hard on becoming green,” she said …claiming it takes time to get rid of the $1.1 trillion in global subsidies in 2022 (deep sigh from CarrZee — that is an IEA number)). The phase out push has been happening for at least 20 years globally and now the climate as we know it seems doomed.
Phasing out Ukraine-war related subsidies is really difficult, she claimed, as the war continues…another sigh.
And then she tackled Mr Trump’s impact on the climate talks after another journalist asked …and I followed up by asking isn’t there more urgency this week because of Trump moving back into the White House in January?:
The US election result does not mean Hermans feels less responsible about what Europe needs to do, she said.
She indicated she had not really thought about whether Trump has created urgency at these talks …really?
Hermans dodged my question about whether Trump’s comments on climate are actually a type of climate negotiation stance.
“In this dynamic world, the EU should be a stable partner on climate,” she said.
An observer from the US told me the Biden-Harris administration are working very hard at the moment to lock down money from their climate policies ….so Mr Trump can’t reverse that spending. This includes for the Inflation Reduction Act.
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