Thirty four years ago, on this day, July 17 1991, the UK is hosting the G7 meeting, but manages NOT to talk about climate change…
Langsam, D. 1991. Promises, promises. New Statesman and Society, August 16
John Major at G7, which was NOT about climate, when it was supposed to be (see new statesman 1991 08 16 article)
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 355ppm. As of 2025, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. This matters because the more carbon dioxide in the air, the more heat gets trapped. The more heat, the more extreme weather events. You can make it more complicated than that if you want, but really, it’s not. Fwiw, I have a tattoo of the Keeling Curve on my left forearm.
The broader context was that the US had had to be dragged kicking and scowling into negotiations for an international climate treaty.
The specific context was that the UK had tried to play “Athens to the Americans’ Sparta”, without success. There was a gang of people within the US administration who knew what they wanted, and knew how to get it….
What I think we can learn from this is that there was a moment when action could have begun. After that, it was too late, really. And that moment was 1989-1991.
What happened next. The UNFCCC treaty did not contain any commitment for rich nations to reduce their emissions, no targets or timetables. Everything since then has been a (failed) attempt to fix that.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
Also on this day:
July 17, 1912 – Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal on climate change
July 17, 2006 – Australian Prime Minister shits on renewables, blah blah “realistic”