COPOUT

‘Wry and passionate first-hand observations from the global climate negotiations – essential for capturing the spirit of this endlessly frustrating struggle’ – Bill McKibben

Most people tend to turn away, perhaps understandably, from the key existential issue of the day: climate change or, some would say more accurately, climate collapse. Nick Breeze tells the engaging, very human story of successive COP conferences over the past decade: it is a tale of imperfection, failure even, but not yet defeat.

So far, the UN process has achieved almost the exact opposite of what it first set out to achieve at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Nick shows clearly that it is not Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil nor any other climate protesters who are the extremists; the true extremists are the policymakers who consistently undermine faltering efforts to reduce emissions. Repeatedly claiming to be saving us whilst allowing carbon emissions to continue rising, governments have failed their people on climate. Nick shows us how, why and what we can do about it.

The public remains largely uninformed about climate change and, for the most part, those who seek to draw attention to the issue are seen as ‘crazy’. There remains a terrifying gap between scientific reality and political action.

Packed with his own experiences and insights from expert interviewees, Nick’s page-turning account is less about the intricacies of the science and more about the mainstream perception of how we are understanding and responding to the problem.