TCU faculty members Michael Slattery and Ann Bluntzer penned an editorial column for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram addressing COP28, an agreement that seeks a global transition away from fossil fuels to aid the environment.
鈥淭he deal paves the way for what environmentalists hope will be the 鈥榖eginning of the end鈥� of the fossil fuel era, and the deep emission cuts pledged at COP28 (coupled with substantially increased financing) are intended to set the world on that path. But it鈥檚 not words that impact the climate. It鈥檚 actions, and the money to fund them,鈥� they wrote.
Slattery is the director of the Institute for Environmental Studies and chair of the Department of Environmental and Sustainability Sciences and a fellow in the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute at TCU. Bluntzer is the executive director of the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute and a professor at TCU鈥檚 Neeley School of Business.
鈥淓ach year, the world continues to increase its energy consumption, with our usage steadily rising and offsetting any progress achieved by renewable energy. We need an inclusive energy solution that encompasses fossil fuels for the foreseeable future, as it represents the responsible path towards a globally secure energy future. The question that no one wants to answer and all will continue to mask in contradicting unrealistic policy notions is: 鈥楧o we care more about the planet or the people?鈥欌��