“Analysing the language of climate change politics” – a report on COP27
PRESS RELEASE
Finance and renewables dominate climate politics, finds new Conry Tech report
Energy efficiency and demand reduction missing from global climate debate
Melbourne, 14th December 2022 – Australian climate tech start-up, Conry Tech, today released “Analysing the language of climate change politics” – a report analysing every word spoken at the recent COP27 plenary sessions (40hrs of video and 230,000+ words). The study finds that finance and renewables utterly dominate the climate conversation, with finance mentioned once every 150 words by delegates such as Al Gore, Alok Sharma, and COP27 President Sameh Shoukry. The report was written to inform the industry on how climate scientists and world leaders talk about climate change and the issues they devote the most attention to. The report authors also argue that issues like energy efficiency and demand reduction are absent from the global stage, and need to be addressed at future COP events as nations transition to renewable energy.
Key findings from the report include:
COP27 was dominated by economics – one in every 150 words spoken was related to climate finance. The loss and damage fund was mentioned more than 300 times
Renewables and reducing emissions were a major focus (especially solar), with energy conservation and efficiency absent from the conversation. “Demand reduction” was not said at all
Paris is still the dominant COP event/agreement discussed in 2022. It was mentioned every five minutes by delegates, far more frequently than references to Glasgow, Kyoto, Copenhagen, Madrid, Bonn, or Montreal
“Phase out” said 15 times vs “phase down” (twice) despite the Glasgow agreement wording
Delegates emphasised damage being done to natural environment, but not the impact of urban environments
Floods and droughts were the most common disaster scenarios cited, with climate change described as a “matter of life and death”
The most regularly cited topical issues were the war in Ukraine (116 times), COVID (92) and the energy crisis (16)
“When world leaders discuss the most important issue of our time, the conversation is worth listening to intently,” said Conry Tech CEO and co-founder, Sam Ringwaldt. “What is said during an event like COP can signal decades of climate action. It also tells us which issues may be missing from the public debate. COP27 was dominated by finance over and above any other issue. The data shows that transitioning to renewables is consistently held to be the means of reducing emissions to the exclusion of energy conservation or efficiency. We believe these play a vital role in reducing emissions and helping nations transition to renewable energy, yet it rarely features in the prevailing conversations.”
To read the full report - click here.