Bullying COP, buying the World Cup

Written By Peter Allan

(Image credit: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

By Chris Hatch

It’s just a short flight from Egypt to Qatar — very convenient for the legions of lobbyists flooding COP27 as they hop across the Arabian Peninsula to collect their next trophy, the World Cup of soccer.

Both events are, in many ways, the Trekkie dream for humanity, gathering people from all corners of the world to rub shoulders, hash out differences and celebrate. This year, both exemplify the power of fossil fuel interests at capturing governments and thwarting that tantalizing vision of who we might become.

Walking the halls of a climate summit is a remarkable experience. Delegates from Africa in deep discussion with Scandinavians, Pacific islanders with Indigenous leaders from the Amazon, activists from Bangladesh strategizing with Japanese and Canadians. Many thousands of people who fully grok the climate crisis, earnesty, skillfully, training those big sapiens brains on our common climate predicament.

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Peter Allan
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