A Member of the European Parliament’s Temporary Committee on Climate Change – created and modelled after Nancy Pelosi’s own Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming – has sent me a copy of its draft report, penned by the rapporteur Karl-Heinz Florenz MEP (DE). As this MEP notes, the document “contains nothing more nor less than the conventional ‘wisdom’ on the subject, but it does so in such an elaborate and detailed fashion that it becomes a work of art in its own right.”
The Whereas paragraphs run through the alphabet nearly three times, from A to Z, to AA and AZ . . . down to CV. They contain some real beauts. Enjoy the following selections, with emphases and editorial interpretations added:
DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION
on ‘2050: The future begins today – Recommendations for the EU’s future integrated policy on climate change’ (2008/2015(INI))
The European Parliament, . . .
– having regard to the results of the Eurobarometer Special opinion poll no. 300 on Europeans’ attitudes to climate change,…[NB: I can’t tell if this is sadly candid or an effort to convince themselves – and the public – that people really do want more of this agenda, notwithstanding this poll (over there), and this one (over here), and the rest of the recent polling all showing the public are no longer buying]
Guiding political ideas
A. whereas the task of preserving creation is passed on from one generation to the next, [NB: Uh…that’s pretty inescapably creationist. In Brussels no less! From a building in whose cafeteria I’ve been told that a brief prayer in thanks over my meal was drawing unwanted attention and unwelcome could I please cut it out. Gosh, I now see how much fun I could’ve had with a certain response …].
B. whereas, particularly in this legislative period, the European Parliament’s work on climate change has been a source of inspiration and a mandate for action to shape an integrated European policy to combat climate change, [NB: if you do say so yourself, Mr. Chairman! Yet methinks this reflects a bit of an insecurity complex, see next item]
C. whereas the leading role of the European Union in the international fight against global warming, which contributes to its sense of identity, implies an obligation to the citizens of Europe not only to formulate medium- and long-term climate objectives, but to achieve these objectives through forward-looking political measures,…[NB: as mentioned before, this issue is the ground on which Europe has chosen to prove its relevance, and is now largely a matter of political “face”]. . . .
E. whereas climate change is a challenge to which there is no single political solution, but whereas the combination of existing opportunities and a dramatic increase in efficiency in all areas of the economy and society may make a contribution to resolving the problem of resources and distribution and pave the way for a third industrial revolution,… [NB: woof! they’ve got very big plans for the state]…
H. whereas it will not be possible to overcome climate change solely by emissions reductions in each individual sector, but there will be a need for a systematic approach to the problem in order to seek cross-sectoral political solutions and to achieve changes to production and consumption throughout society by coherent legislation, [HUH? I think this says what the US wants to do isn’t enough because it doesn’t, well, see the item above] . . .
Energy
S. whereas oil is the most important source of energy worldwide, accounting for some 35% of primary energy consumption, followed by coal at 25% and natural gas at 21%; whereas, however, the age of cheap and abundant fossil energy is coming to an end, [NB: they ignore that this is largely due not to reasons of physical scarcity but political considerations]…
The Future Begins Today…
CS. whereas consumer information is largely lacking on the climatic effects of agricultural products, but whereas targeted information campaigns can influence the purchasing behaviour of consumers and thus also achieve health policy objectives, [NB: message — don’t buy those Africans’ fruits and veggies!]
Oh lawdy lawdy, it goes on and on, and in a similar vein, into “Tourism and Cultural Heritage,” livestock breeding, a short riff on adaptation (to disparage the notion of honest cost-benefit analysis, which no climate policies these guys have in mind could ever pass), some happy talk about job creation, far more happy talk on “Education, training and awareness-raising,” and lots, lots more.
By page 13, it stops that meandering and tosses a sop or at least a nag or two into every imaginable corner on its way to a full 150… “Guiding Political Ideas” which, the careful reader will have noticed, is also a category in the Whereas litany.
That leaves you with just 30 more pages of Annexes of things that politicians are doing that will bring about the desired climate Valhalla, and recommended writings by EU cheerleader institutions on bullying others into doing this to themselves, too. Read it for yourself if you wish.