Words matter. Last month, at the end of COP26, the climate summit in Glasgow where 196 nations, large and small, gathered to face the global environmental crisis, much ado was made about three words in the final, hard-won agreement. For the first time in a major climate pact, the two words “fossil fuels” were explicitly stated—targeted for reduction—even though fossil-fuel emissions have long been known as the primary culprit in global warming. Yet while that inclusion was cheered, another word choice was not: at the last minute, “phase out” coal power was changed to “phase down,” under intense pressure from India and China, both major coal hogs.
Words thread the needle in diplomatic negotiations, usually reflecting who has power at the table and who does not. But outside the Glasgow conference, climate activists—many thousands of whom demonstrated in the city’s streets throughout the two weeks of meetings—were unimpressed. Young climate leader Greta Thunberg summed up the words of the Glasgow accord as “blah-blah-blah”: “Unless we achieve immediate, drastic, unprecedented, annual emission cuts at the source,” she tweeted, “we’re failing when it comes to this climate crisis.”
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