On this day, October 21 in 1989, the Commonwealth Heads of Government issued a warm-words statement.
“The Langkawi Declaration on the Environment was a declaration issued by the assembled Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations on the issue of environmental sustainability. It was issued on October 21, 1989 at Langkawi, Malaysia, during the tenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting(CHOGM).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langkawi_Declaration
[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 350.33ppm. At time of writing it was 421ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]
The context was this –
Everyone was making bold statements that Something Must Be Done. It made them feel good. It responded to recent surges in green votes. It amounted to nothing.
Why this matters.
Let’s be skeptical about the power of a pledge, okay?
What happened next?
The whole UNFCCC process. Oh joy.