Glasgow COP26 climate fest an obscene waste of tax money

The City of Halifax did some estimates of the costs of sending delegates as observers to the Glasgow IPCC gabfest.

HRM could potentially participate in the COP26 conference provided the application for observer status was submitted prior to December 31, 2020 and HRM’s application is accepted and approved.
 
It is difficult to determine the associated costs given the unpredictable state of international air travel post-COVID-19.
 
However, the Chief Economist for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) speculates that for industry to reach a break even point, there could be an expected fare increase of 43 to 54% based on 62% occupancy for social distancing depending on the region and its baseline average achieved load factor.¹³ As reported by IATA, the demand for flights has decreased by 66% and the total of global flights in September 2020 have decreased by 51% compared to September 2019.¹⁴ 
 
With this uncertainty in mind, current cost estimates for travel are highly unpredictable and subject to change. For example, current costs for air travel from Halifax to Glasgow priced in November 2020 for return flights range from CA $800 to $4,000 round trip. With a conservative estimate for an increase of 54%, a flight could range in cost from $1,200 to $6,000 per passenger. Similarly, costs of accommodations, meals, and local transportation are unpredictable at this time. In terms of registration fees, COP26 has confirmed that UNFCC conferences are free of charge for participation as observers.¹⁵ 
 
The conference is scheduled from November 1 to 12, 2021 which would require a minimum of 11 nights accommodation for attendance of the full duration. In terms of accommodation, current prices for Glasgow suggest a range of CA $1,300 to $2,150 for 11 nights duration priced in November 2020. However, these prices could be low and may be underpriced due to COVID-19 restrictions and lack of travel. It would be prudent to consider a higher cost for accommodations in the event that accommodation prices increase post-pandemic. On average, visitors will spend approximately $43/day on meals and $27/day on local transportation in Glasgow.¹⁶ 

Considering air fare ($800 to $4,000), accommodations ($1,300 to $2,150), meals ($473), and local transportation ($297), the minimum cost for one individual to attend 11 days at the COP26 conference in Glasgow in 2021 ranges from about $2,870 to $6,920. If air fare expense increases by 54% and prices of accommodations increase due to increased demand, the cost per individual could be significantly higher (upwards of $9,000).
(Halifax recommended it not send observers due to costs.)

Bear in mind that costs above do not include delegate registration fees and that airfares for cities west of Halifax will be higher.

Using a median of $4,895 all in (with a possibility of costs up to $4,000 higher) plus registration fees, if any, this is not a cheap trip.

Canada is reportedly sending as many as 150 delegates, so we are looking at minimal costs of $734,000 and, more likely, over $1 million.

That is not reasonable even if the Glasgow gabfest came up with concrete plans for dealing with the effects of climate change that are already here.

We are dealing with increased weather incidents ranging from droughts, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires. While the IPCC has clung stubbornly to outdated and discredited efforts to reduce carbon emissions, solar (and other) effects have changed our climate.

We need to invest in infrastructure to mitigate changed climate effects on our population rather than fighting a fictional carbon terror that will take decades to take effect. The effects are here, now, not in 2030 or 2050.

Demands that we wreck our economy to satisfy a dud UN IPCC hypothesis are insane.

We are sitting on the verge of a worldwide energy crisis. We are not positioned to meet the demands for oil and gas energy, which is criminal considering that Canada has the potential to be energy self-sufficient and can export products we do not need for decades into the future.

As I have written before, developing nations need affordable energy to build roads, railroads, and ports to move their products to market and establish an economy. They cannot create the infrastructure to build electric plants, water, and sewer systems without affordable energy.  

The headlong rush to develop electrified vehicles is about to hit a brick wall as we don’t have the resources to build the batteries needed or the components for onboard computers.

Mining the minerals needed will take the diesel-powered heavy equipment governments are trying to eliminate.

Instead of building electrical infrastructure to charge electric cars, we need to look at dikes and levees to control flooding, wide rights-of-way and forest management to contain wildfires and protect communities and the reclamation of wetlands and creation of water reservoirs to offset drought conditions.

The UN IPCC has led us up the garden path for decades and must be told, politely but firmly, to take the first left to Hades.

It has done enough damage for several lifetimes with nothing tangible to show for it. 

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