The U.N. annual climate conference in Madrid failed this weekend. It ran two days long because negotiators could not reach a consensus on how to move forward with carbon emission reductions or climate-based wealth distribution without the compliant United States.

President Donald Trump has received the blame as participants are worried that he will win reelection next year and follow through on his promises to continue the formal withdraw the U.S. from the international effort.

The talks exposed deep rifts among industrialized nations, fast-growing economies like China and India and the poorest countries – divides that the U.S. had helped bridge under former President Barack Obama in the run-up to the 2015 Paris climate accord. With Trump moving to pull out of the pact, delegates from many countries retreated behind their long-held grievances over how to bear the burdens of reducing greenhouse gases and preparing for the worsening effects of a changing climate. The talks in Madrid dealt largely with technical issues, but raised questions about whether countries will unite to take aggressive steps without the diplomatic might of the U.S. to drive the process forward

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Even with the teen climate activist Greta Thunberg threatening to put the world’s national leaders “against the wall” if they don’t “do their job and to protect our futures,” the principals could only work out a partial agreement. They asked the countries to come up with more ambitious targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions to meet the terms of the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.

Still, Thunberg’s remarks, delivered during an appearance in Italy, were so poorly received that she had to offer an apology…sort of.

Thunberg later explained she was making a literal translation from Swedish. She said the phrase in her native language means to hold people accountable, and clarified that her worldwide school strike movement ought to remain a peaceful protest on climate change. ..Thunberg traveled to Turin in an electric car after attending the COP25 climate conference in Madrid, where she had given a speech accusing world governments of “creative PR” over their climate change stances. She told reporters in Italy that she would be taking a break after the holidays following months of global climate activism in the United States and Europe.

It appears that the Paris agreement will be the high watermark for “climate consensus.”

Under the Paris accord, countries agreed in 2015 to work to limit global temperature rises to ‘well below’ two degrees Celsius through a series of voluntary action pledges that step up over time. ‘The one thing in Paris that gave us hope was that the deal is going to be strengthened over time,’ said Mohamed Adow, Director of Power Shift Africa, referring to the 196-nation Paris climate treaty. ‘If that doesn’t come through, Madrid will have failed.’

Finally, the Extinction Rebellion climate cult capped this remarkable mound of bureaucratic bungling with a massive pile of horse manure.

Green activists dumped horse manure and staged a mock hanging outside the venue of a U.N. climate summit in Madrid on Saturday, airing their frustration at the failure of world leaders to take meaningful action against global warming. Led by grassroots group Extinction Rebellion, the actions were timed to coincide with the closing of the COP25 summit, where negotiators have been unable to agree on how to implement the 2015 Paris climate agreement. ….Twelve members of the group stood on melting blocks of ice, nooses drawn tight around their necks to symbolize the 12 months remaining until the next summit, when the Paris deal enters a make-or-break implementation phase. Attached to the pile of manure was a short message to leaders saying “the horseshit stops here.”

It’s a good thing Trumpenfreude does not contribute to global warming. Otherwise, the temperatures on this planet would rival those of our sister planet Venus!



