250th Podcast: Harvard's Dr. Aaron Bernstein Discusses COP 26, the National Academy's Climate Crisis Effort and Related Issues (November 19th)
www.thehealthcarepolicypodcast.com
Concerning the recent United Nation’s COP 26 meeting in Glasgow, again unverifiable pledges were made moreover to cut methane gas emissions by 30% by 2030, limit deforestation and adequately finance converting to a green economy. The US continued to exhibit intransience and/or fecklessness moreover by refusing to sign a pledge to phase out coal despite the fact it is the single biggest source of CO2 emissions worldwide and the fact the US still generates 20% of its electricity from coal. The US also continued to oppose adequately funding countries to recover (termed "loss and damage") from climate-fueled disasters - disproportionately caused by US carbon emissions. The US is responsible for 40% of excess carbon emissions since 1750. Concerning the US's performance, the Third World Network's Meena Raman commented, "You walk out of the Kyoto Protocol [1997]. You walk out of Paris. You come back and want us to think you're doing more? What you're actually encouraging is people to walk out and then come back. And then you're applauded." Concerning the credibility of the US "doing more," earlier this week the Biden administration announced it would launch the largest ever auction of oil and gas drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico. A decision Earthjustice defined as amounting to a “climate bomb.” As a related aside, the Biden administration has been to date issuing oil and gas drilling permits at a faster pace than the Trump administration. In sum, based on an analysis of countries’ 2030 GHG emissions goals, the latest Climate Action Tracker finding shows global warming doubling to 2.4 Celsius above pre-industrial levels, considerably warmer than the 2015 Paris Accord goal of 1.5 Celsius of warming - that substantially runs the risk of causing runaway global warming, or what's been termed Hothouse Earth. As for the US healthcare industry’s considerable contribution to the climate crisis, the industry has still not taken any meaningful action. This past Friday the House passed the Build Back Better (BBB) Act that would in part provide $550 billion to address the climate crisis, or in sum allow the US to get halfway to the Biden administration's goal to reduce emissions by approximately 50% (over a 2005 baseline) by 2030. Passage of BBB in the Senate is, as widely reported, in doubt.
250th Podcast: Harvard's Dr. Aaron Bernstein Discusses COP 26, the National Academy's Climate Crisis Effort and Related Issues (November 19th)
250th Podcast: Harvard's Dr. Aaron Bernstein…
250th Podcast: Harvard's Dr. Aaron Bernstein Discusses COP 26, the National Academy's Climate Crisis Effort and Related Issues (November 19th)
Concerning the recent United Nation’s COP 26 meeting in Glasgow, again unverifiable pledges were made moreover to cut methane gas emissions by 30% by 2030, limit deforestation and adequately finance converting to a green economy. The US continued to exhibit intransience and/or fecklessness moreover by refusing to sign a pledge to phase out coal despite the fact it is the single biggest source of CO2 emissions worldwide and the fact the US still generates 20% of its electricity from coal. The US also continued to oppose adequately funding countries to recover (termed "loss and damage") from climate-fueled disasters - disproportionately caused by US carbon emissions. The US is responsible for 40% of excess carbon emissions since 1750. Concerning the US's performance, the Third World Network's Meena Raman commented, "You walk out of the Kyoto Protocol [1997]. You walk out of Paris. You come back and want us to think you're doing more? What you're actually encouraging is people to walk out and then come back. And then you're applauded." Concerning the credibility of the US "doing more," earlier this week the Biden administration announced it would launch the largest ever auction of oil and gas drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico. A decision Earthjustice defined as amounting to a “climate bomb.” As a related aside, the Biden administration has been to date issuing oil and gas drilling permits at a faster pace than the Trump administration. In sum, based on an analysis of countries’ 2030 GHG emissions goals, the latest Climate Action Tracker finding shows global warming doubling to 2.4 Celsius above pre-industrial levels, considerably warmer than the 2015 Paris Accord goal of 1.5 Celsius of warming - that substantially runs the risk of causing runaway global warming, or what's been termed Hothouse Earth. As for the US healthcare industry’s considerable contribution to the climate crisis, the industry has still not taken any meaningful action. This past Friday the House passed the Build Back Better (BBB) Act that would in part provide $550 billion to address the climate crisis, or in sum allow the US to get halfway to the Biden administration's goal to reduce emissions by approximately 50% (over a 2005 baseline) by 2030. Passage of BBB in the Senate is, as widely reported, in doubt.