Monday, 22 August 2011

The president of the COP17 conference: "People need to eat first, before other concerns"

"The world has less than 10 years to halt the global rise in greenhouse gas emissions if we are to avoid catastrophic consequences for people and the planet."

“In coming decades, changes in our environment and the resulting upheavals from droughts to inundated coastal areas to loss of arable land are likely to become a major driver of war and conflict,”

Ban Ki-moon, U.N. Secretary-General


Ban Ki-moon and other international climate alarmists still continue blabbering about the forthcoming "global warming catastrophe". However, the president of the forthcoming COP-17 conference in Durban, South Africa´s International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has a far more realistic take on global warming:

She said developing countries had to balance climate change initiatives with their efforts to build their economies.
"People need to eat first, before other concerns. They need jobs," she said.
COP meetings require developing nations to reduce emissions only if the funding and technology are supplied by more developed members.

Read the entire article here

Of course, Nkoana-Mashabane also uses standard climate liturgical phrases, like "the COP17 meeting would be a step towards establishing legal guidelines on emissions reductions", but her priorities are clear.

This is what she actually was telling her audience:

Global warming is NOT a first priority for South Africa and other developing countries. Jobs and economic growth are much more important. But, if the western countries (are stupid enough to) offer billions of "free  climate change money", South Africa and other developing countries are willing to receive it.


1 comment:

A K Haart said...

It may well be that what Nkoana-Mashabane is prepared to say is also what others are merely thinking. Small sign maybe, but as you say possibly significant.