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- Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest is attending the COP28 climate conference in the United Arab Emirates.
- He says energy bosses should have their heads “put up on spikes” for not committing to phase out fossil fuels.
- It comes as some companies, including the national oil company of the UAE, defy calls for a wind-down of fossil fuel use.
Quote with context:
And he took particular aim at the oil and gas bosses who were dismissing the calls, describing them as “selfish beyond belief”.
He said their actions were jeopardising the lives of millions of people in overwhelmingly poor countries who were at risk of “lethal humidity”, or an inability to cool themselves down. “If you can’t cool yourself you’re actually an oven burning around 100 watts all the time,” Dr Forrest said.
"If you can [sic] get rid of that heat energy, you cook.
"And when these deaths occur — and they’re occurring now, but when they occur at much larger-scale — I want these so-called people who are very smart to be held to account.
“It’s their heads which should be put up on spikes because they wilfully ignored and they didn’t care.”
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We’re way overdue for guillotine day.
Absolutely.
Australia stands to be the nation that can do so damned much towards pushing for a green future right now.
It’s a mining powerhouse with access to the minerals needed for future green energy tech. It should be able to mine them more safely, wholesomely, and justly than pretty much any other nation. Mining stuff like lithium is an ugly business, but doing it in a country that has basic labor and environmental protection rules with the technology to do so at scale would be huge. If the Aussies really dedicated themselves to it, current issues with lithium or cobalt could be deflated substantially.
A rational “mining magnate” has everything to gain from a green future, and Australia has an opportunity to become very wealthy in the process – provided it builds the industry, gets support from the government, and the rest of the world is buying. The IRA in the US means at least that market is very keen on friendsourced raw materials.
It should be able to mine them more safely, wholesomely, and justly than pretty much any other nation. Mining stuff like lithium is an ugly business, but doing it in a country that has basic labor and environmental protection rules with the technology to do so at scale would be huge.
Sorry but all I’m hearing is that it would be marginally more expensive, which means the market will either need to go where there aren’t protections, or they’ll have to gut protections here to accommodate the rights of the wealthy to make money by spilling other people’s blood.
Capitalism got us into this mess, it won’t get us out. It puts money above all else, so if you ask it to do anything good it will laugh at you and make a jerk off motion.
It’s not all bad news.
West Aus is getting big into renewable hydrogen. Basically using solar farms to crack hydrogen from sea water.
Last time I read up about it there were three new cracking facilities under development.
The whole process seems so magical to me as a non-science person, basically selling sun & sea water as a form of energy that for all intents and purposes has no waste products.
Here’s a good primer on electrolyzers, though it is very US (IRA)-oriented. Assuming you like a podcast (or reading a transcript of one).
I am extremely split about Forrest.
As far as mining magnates go, he is obviously a world apart from the likes of Rinehart and Palmer. He makes the right noises in many areas, and seems to be doing a lot of good things.
Ont he other hand, a number of his philanthropic projects spent a lot of money while going nowhere, his company FMG is involved in long-running disputes and controversies regarding mining without permission in Aboriginal land while destroying cultural and sacred sites, and he was the architect of the abominable cashless welfare card.
You can’t be a “mining magnate” and a good person. That’s just not possible.
As much as I agree with him, if the guillotine were to come out for the fossil fuel executives, what exactly makes him think he’ll be spared?
what exactly makes him think he’ll be spared?
I don’t really know anything about this but… the article says he acknowledges that his own companies are prominent greenhouse gas emitters, he is investing $6b to improve his companies, and that he has large investments in renewables as well.
IDK how true that is, but thats what it says.
A well timed petroleum filled jet
Hard agree. But there won’t ever be any justice because there never is. Too many selfish cowards out there.
Hear, hear.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Australian mining magnate and climate campaigner Andrew Forrest has lashed out in an extraordinary outburst aimed at oil and gas supremos, saying their heads should be “put on spikes”.
Tensions are increasing in Dubai over the nature of the final wording of the COP summit, with some pushing for a complete end to the use of coal, oil and gas, as others resist the demand.
Earlier this week, the head of US oil and gas behemoth Exxon said there had been too much focus on renewable energy and not enough attention paid to the role hydrogen, biofuels and carbon capture and storage could play in cutting emissions.
Exxon, along with fellow American giant Chevron and the national oil companies of Saudi Arabia and COP28 host the UAE, have defied calls for a wind-down in fossil fuel use by investing heavily in new capacity and the acquisition of competitors.
According to Mr Forrest, attempts by the world’s oil majors to hold up carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a solution to global warming were a red herring.
For all the consternation, many of the leading figures in attendance — including US Climate Envoy John Kerry and the head of the UN body that oversees COP — have backed the need for the industry to be involved.
The original article contains 979 words, the summary contains 215 words. Saved 78%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
not enough attention paid to the role hydrogen, biofuels and carbon capture and storage could play in cutting emissions
There has been a considerable amount of attention to the role they could play in cutting emissions, and the conclusion is that their role is to maintain the profits of the fossil fuel industry by distracting everyone from things that would actually cut emissions.
as far as rich guys go twiggy ain’t the worst
Ok, Robespierre.
