I appreciate the freedoms of assembly, association, and the freedom of speech. I have no problem with people gathering to share their thoughts and opinions. We must be able to assemble peaceably to share thoughts and opinions without persecution or backlash of any kind.
Having said that doesn’t mean that I must trust every assembly of opinionated pundits, though. In fact, there are some whose gatherings only serve to make me trust them less.
I try not to let myself delve too deeply into conspiratorial darkness, but there are a few groups that I believe are intent on wreaking havoc. Certain groups, once out in the open, speak their nonsense about what they will do if the rest of us don’t get on board with their agendas. Occasionally, there’s a gathering that just seems next level – as if something more is happening than just a cavalcade of opinions. As if evil just massed itself in one place and celebrated plans for world domination.
Sound extreme? Maybe.
The two annual gatherings that give me the most pause are those of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, and the United Nations Climate Change Conference – known simply as the COP.
From these two meetings come calls to action sounding like subplots from a Hunger Games movie, met by applause from the world’s elite who look like Hunger Games characters. These calls seek to eliminate fossil fuels, eat bugs, eradicate national borders, eliminate cultural norms, erase biological truths, to declare crises or peace where neither exists.
The WEF and the COP are incubators of liberal progressive power grabs, fully sanctioned and attended by world leaders. Their agenda items make it into the policies, regulations, and laws of the nations of the world.
This year’s UN climate conference, christened COP28, met in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was a star-studded affair with grand speeches and a heady atmosphere – which comes from being in a room where everyone is important, and every speech is like a sermon filled with words of life-changing evangelism. “COP is where the world comes together to agree on ways to address the climate crisis,” the United Nations website says, “such as limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, helping vulnerable communities adapt to the effects of climate change, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.”
Impressive. Noteworthy. For the greater good.
Then they announced how they plan to engage the world in their quest for all that is good, right, and fossil-fuel-free.
First off, “after 30 years of waiting” more than 190 nations agreed to a framework transitioning away from fossil fuels. Not climate activists and intellectual elites, but actual nations signing on to the COP28 agenda.
But that wasn’t good enough. “Proposing a transition away from fossil fuels may sound like a step in the right direction, a glimmer of hope amidst chaos," a spokesman for Africa Movement Building Space adamantly stated. “However, let us not underestimate the cunning tactics of fossil fuel giants and petrostates. They will cleverly disguise their products as ‘transitional’ fuels, especially in the most vulnerable corners of our world. … Even the once unyielding fossil fuel giants and petrostates are now witnessing the inevitable - a world that’s free of their toxic grip.”
Guess who the “petrostates” are? You got it. The evil US of A is a charter member, along with the UK and Germany. To atone for our sins, we pledged a joint commitment of $700 million for a global climate reparations fund. Nice.
A U.S. pledge of $3 billion for a “Green Climate Fund” followed, intended for “reducing emissions and adapting to climate change in developing countries” – which then drew a rebuke because apparently, we pledged the same amount during the Obama years, but only paid $1 billion … just $1 billion. But don’t worry, because COP28 also launched the first-ever task force on international taxation to “tax polluting industries” worldwide with “the potential to unlock billions”!
Lest anyone think we are not fully on board with the whole climate-change-is-an-existential-crisis mantra, let me assure you that Biden’s climate czar John Kerry was there representing the U.S. in an official capacity.
But the one attendee that really got me was the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). What is the DoD doing at COP28? Aren’t there wars to be fought, bad guys that need killing, threats that need stopping, tyrants that need toppling?
Apparently, climate change is the one true existential threat we face and therefore is a matter of national security. It is therefore imperative that our uniformed warfighters attend the annual gathering of evil henchmen known as the COP.
The DoD was quite proud of its attendance, issuing a press release to describe the climate change resilience of the various branches of the military and their commitment to combat global climate change, while also highlighting the attendance of multiple high-level DoD officials, announcing “the Defense Department's role as a global leader in managing the impacts of climate change on resilience, peace and stability.”
Global taxation? Global climate reparations? The fact that our military is bragging about its participation in an international conference in which the U.S. is excoriated as an evil “petrostate” is something for which we should not stand.
These are not rational people … and irrational people are ignored at great risk.
The COP is a joke, but the COP is also serious. It is past time for the U.S. to instigate a COP-out.
To contact Phil or request him for a speaking engagement, go to www.rightsideradio.org. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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