Greenwashing

Two facts that encapsulate the callous — maybe even downright cynical — attitude that humans have toward actually addressing business-as-usual in the face of climate change.

Photo Credit: David Rodrigo

1. Dubai is hosting the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference this month. The same Dubai with an annual average daily high temperature of 91 degrees F, that boasts the world’s tallest building, man-made islands in the shape of palm trees, an indoor ski slope, and a Trump golf course in the desert. Dubai was recently named one of the top five sustainable cities by EuroNews, in large part because of a snazzy new development called, “Sustainable City.” The endorsement does not mention that “Sustainable City” actually encompasses less than 1% of the area of Dubai. The rest of the place is still a fossil-fuel playground.
2. The Chair of the UN Climate Change Conference is Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology for United Arab Emirates; also, by the way, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

If you think this UN flight-fest of talking heads to a place unfit for human habitation has anything to do with actually making our planet more resilient, or our ways of living more sustainable, you are a sucker for greenwashing. Or a fool. Maybe both.