It had been an article of faith since the 1990s when the idea of “climate reparations” was first proposed that the United States would never participate in such an extortion scheme.
Then Joe Biden got elected.
At the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, wealthy nations agreed for the first time to a framework that would pay poorer countries for “damages” that are caused by climate change. Droughts, storms, heat waves, excessive cold — all can now be itemized as part of the cost poor countries pay because rich countries are responsible for the changing climate.
Of course, storms and droughts have been occurring for millions of years in these regions, but that doesn’t matter. Once the deal is inked, the bill for “damages” will become active.
There is a small catch, however.
Wealthy nations will create a “loss and damage” fund that will provide money to countries that have suffered from climate-related “disasters” such as droughts or hurricanes, according to a draft proposal seen by Reuters. However, most of the details of the financial framework will be decided and agreed upon in 2023 at the next COP conference that will take place in Dubai.
“There is only an agreement to agree next year, which is not an agreement,” Energy and Environmental Legal Institute senior legal fellow Steve Milloy told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “This is a face-saving fake deal to keep stringing poor countries along in order to keep the Paris hoax alive.”
The point isn’t that the deal is “fake,” because eventually the loss and damage fund will become real and the United States and other nations are going to have to pay up. The point is that this change in policy by the United States will enable this scheme to get off the ground and become a reality.
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Guess who is going to be first in line with their hand out when this climate fund becomes real? The second richest nation on the planet — China — is still considered a “developing country,” meaning it would be eligible for funds from the “loss and damage fund.”
Although the U.S. has long been at the forefront of opposition to the idea, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said earlier this year the U.S. was open to it. Late this week, European Union (EU) delegates issued a proposal that European Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans described as the EU’s “final offer.” Timmermans said any agreement would depend on an updated definition of a “developing” country. China, currently the world’s largest single emitter, is considered a developing country under the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Is this a great deal or what? The single biggest emitter of greenhouse gasses on the planet would be in line to be able to claim damages for past emissions by rich countries. I don’t know whether to laugh or put my fist through a wall.
As Mr. Milloy pointed out, nothing is set in stone as yet. But the deal describes the mindset of Biden and the climate hysterics who now run America’s environmental policy: The global north has too much money and it’s been wrested from the global south if not illegally, then unfairly. Climate change is just an excuse. This is “social justice” writ large on a global scale, and the American taxpayer will suffer for it.
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