What would Martin Luther think of the recent climate change conference in Dubai?
No, not the famous civil rights leader, assassinated in Memphis in that tense summer of 1968, though he too may have had some pointed views on the gathering of the planetary elite to discuss ever-increasing global temperatures.
It’s the fellow Dr. King was named after we’re talking about: the famous German theologist who challenged his own Catholic church 500 years ago in a move ushering in the Reformation, splitting Europe’s Christians into warring camps that struggle to keep the peace even today.
So why would Martin Luther give a darn about COP 28, the United Nation gabfest that is to the elite of the Green movement what the Oscars are to the silver screen royalty of Hollywood?
He’d care quite a lot. Because Luther saw a similar game played before and this current version is as unpalatable as the original.
Back in his day it was the accepted practice of the Pope and high church officials to grant indulgences: if you had sinned and worried you were going to end up in Hell for eternity there was an option. You could buy an indulgence from the Church: a keep-out-of-Hades card when it came to the afterlife’s sorting hat.
What Luther objected to was that only the rich could do this. Only they had the required moolah. No amount of prayer by some commoner would work, but slip enough golden coinage into the right paw and – voila – you’re thereby saved from eternal damnation. In effect, the more money you had the more you could sin, thanks to the indulgences game.
Only today it goes by an entirely different name: carbon credits. However I suspect Luther would spot the similarity in a heartbeat. And be equally angry at such blatant hypocrisy.
Essentially the more money you have the more you can parade your love of Planet Earth on a suitably elite stage to the masses, even though your own carbon footprint might be the size of a small country.
You can fly into the annual COP event on your private jet, relax after all that environmental boosterism aboard your super-yacht, before deciding which of your many homes to visit and catch up with the latest gossip while reflecting upon whether the paparazzi did your profile justice in Dubai. And if anyone raises an eyebrow all you need do is mention those carbon offset credits some flunkey previously purchased on your behalf.
We know these people are by now, yet somehow they manage to get away with this shtick. But beyond the Al Gores, Leonardo DiCaprios and, in a suitably down-table, Canadian-sort-of-way, David Suzukis, there’s a wider gulf in this whole climate change challenge.
Perversely, the poorer you are the less likely to give a thought about global warming, even though you are in the crosshairs. Simply put, people living hand-to-mouth have not the luxury to consider what fuel keeps them warm or lights their very humble home. Price alone is what matters.
Meanwhile, here in the very much richer world, we stroke our moral halos while playing the carbon reduction game, yet would never in a million lifetimes agree to swap our lifestyles with someone existing on a few dollars a day with a carbon footprint the size of your little toe.
It is all theatre, all virtue signalling. It just took a jump in inflation to make many Canadians jettison climate change as their number one issue. Suddenly everybody wants those carbon levies removed.
Yes, we all love our indulgences. Some things never change, no matter what the climate does.
