December 13, 2023

"First ever deal calling for transition away from fossil fuels"

"Countries reach ‘historic’ COP28 deal to transition from fossil fuels"

"COP28 Ends With First-Ever Deal on Turning Away From Fossil Fuels"

You will all be forgiven for being confused about how the 28th Conference of the Parties meeting on dealing with climate change is the first meeting to call for burning fewer fossil fuels—the very thing we all thought the meeting is supposed to be about.

"Phase out" is not mentioned as it is seen as too prescriptive. No deadline is established, not even the 2050 net zero date.

It goes to the uselessness of the COP meetings on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

This is a process that had established "Net Zero by 2050"—a date and carbon emissions amount that is barely based in the "science" of climate change—without even bothering to ascertain how they might do that.

A meeting on the response to climate change that has not yet agreed that burning oil and the release of methane needs to be the focus.

A meeting of politicians, economists, and business managers who supposedly pass budgets for their livelihoods that cannot agree that funding their own demands is necessary to achieve those demands as there is no one else "above" them to do it.

I think that by announcing that these leaders have finally agreed to transition away from fossil fuels, the COP has exposed itself as a sham.

It is also a vivid example of why global coordination cannot work under liberal capitalist politics. The entire framework driven by the interests of capitalist profit and government-related revenues is simply incapable of shifting direction even when the alternatives, the knowledge, and the general will is there.

The world's UNFCCC is a global treaty that established that stopping human-caused climate change is existential for humanity. The goal of the UNFCCC's COP was to figure out how world governments can stop and adapt to climate change.

From the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement, the governments of the world have been announcing that they are on their way to addressing this issue by announcing aspirational "targets", pools of money, saying the words "climate" and "change" a lot. We all thought that the point of the COP is to discuss exactly how we are going to do this.

This latest announcement should upset everyone. It means that the governments and businesses of the world have arrived where most people were decades ago: a realization that a reduction in burning fossil fuels is necessary through a shift to alternative fuels.

COP28: we welcome you to 1995. Historic indeed.

The IMF has praised Argentina's cuts to social supports.

• devaluing the Peso by 54% (money is now essentially worthless)
• removed indexing for pensioners (0.4% of GDP)
• reducing spending equivalent to 2.9% of gross domestic product
• energy subsidies cut by 0.5% of GDP
• transport subsidies cut by 0.2% fo GDP

It is a version of the West's central bank interest rate increase to force a recession, reduce wealth of the working class, reduce purchasing, and bring down prices. Except Argentina is doing it overnight.

It is a little odd that the financial sector can celebrate a move that would never be allowed in a major capitalist country so openly.

Of course, if capital could get away with this and it not result in a revolution they would demand it here too.

Will "shock therapy" work? As per usual, it depends on who you are asking about.

Work for most of the population. No. It never does. But, that is not the point, of course. Pushing the vast majority into poverty with the expectation that workers have just been lazy and will now start to self-actualize through establishing small businesses is ridiculous.

Weirdly, on capital's side, the answer is also likely "no". These kinds of policies do not result in much savings even in the short-term, unless you are a holder of Argentinian debt and want a bailout. But, that is not a huge segment of capital involved in Argentina.

Santiago Bausili, a Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase veteran, has been tapped to run Argentina’s central bank by Economy Minister Luis Caputo. Both of these folks have been deep into capital and derivative markets in South America.

Their unabashed personal interests cannot be overstated.