Don’t Look Up is No More a Movie; It’s Playing Real Time Around Us
So, Don’t Look Up didn’t cut it at the Oscars 2022. Not that we were expecting it to, given how critics (and the audience) have been deeply divided over it. But regardless of the win, or not in this case, Don’t Look Up remains one of the most relevant takes on what’s happening with our world. Or, to be more precise, what’s wrong with it all.
Only few days back, both of the Earth’s poles recorded temperature extremes for this time of the year. Parts of Antarctica were over 40 degree Celsius warmer than average, while the Arctic was over 30 degree Celsius above average. Antarctica in fact shattered all-time records on March 18, and witnessed the collapse of another giant ice shelf, almost as big as Rome, just a day before.
And yet, it all felt surreal as I was sitting at a global space conference in the US capital at that time, to hear all the talks about the amazing advances in technology, the war in Ukraine and craft of GEOINT, the wonderful opportunities that space tourism opens for us (never mind the carbon footprint brought about by the billionaire space club), the exciting investment prospects in the space and satellite industry…
Basically, everything else, but for a short almost blink-and-you-miss-it session on climate, that too during the lunch hour.
It felt bizarre, almost like being a part of the Don’t Look Up world.
But then it’s not about just one conference. It feels equally surreal to see some of the headlines these days in Canada, screaming how the world must boycott the Russian oil to curb Moscow’s power, while all the while making a pitch for more pouring Canadian oil into the global market. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has practically lost no time in urging America to look north to help make up for the shortfall after the US banned the import of Russian oil.
Capitalizing on the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine not only reeks of opportunism but is downright disgusting.
As if this wasn’t inexplicable enough, the hard-sellers are justifying Canadian oil as “democratic” as against the “authoritarian” oil of Russia and the Middle East.
What does democratic oil even supposed to mean? After all, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
But since we are at it, let’s discuss the nitty-gritties. Canadian oil incidentally is one of the dirtiest in the world. Since it is mostly extracted from oil sands, its carbon footprint is one of the highest. According to a study published in Science in 2019, only three countries out of a total 50 were worse than Canada — Algeria, Venezuela, and Cameroon.
It’s 47th on a list of 50.
And yet, it is supposed to be clean because, well, it’s “democratic”.
Tell that to the indigenous peoples who have seen their health and environments completely destroyed; and driven out of their lands when they protest. As oil companies chase the dollars and their pipeline dream.
Let’s get this clear. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is all about oil. Ukraine’s delegate to the United Nations, Svitlana Krakovska, put it aptly: “Human-induced climate change and the war on Ukraine have the same roots — fossil fuels — and our dependence on them.”
And yet here we are talking about more oil and more pipelines. Be it Russian, Canadian, Middle Eastern, or American, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Or not so sweet, in this case. Expanding fossil fuel infrastructure of any kind will only worsen the climate crisis, which the United Nations has called “the biggest threat modern humans have ever faced”.
Sure, the climate crisis is global. But it’s a bigger crisis for Canada, where, multiple studies have warned, average temperatures are rising at twice the global average, and by three times in the north.
Canada is the fourth largest oil producer and 10th largest carbon emitter in the world. We have missed every emission reduction target we have ever set, including the 2020 target. And there is a huge question mark on if we will meet its 2030 Paris climate target, despite a recently released ambitious plan by the Federal government. And this is almost entirely due to increasing emissions from the oil and gas sector, where greenhouse gas emissions have only risen over the past two decades.
The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the third and final which came out in April 4, sounds yet another dire warning to businesses and global leaders on reducing emissions. It notes that without a strengthening of policies beyond those that are implemented by the end of 2020, global GHG emissions are projected to rise beyond 2025, leading to a median global warming of 3.2 degree Celsius, which could prove to be catastrophic.
UN Secretary General António Guterres couldn’t have been more blunt: “The latest IPCC report is a litany of broken climate promises. Some government and business leaders are saying one thing, but doing another. They are lying. It is time to stop burning our planet.”
And yet, we want to pump more oil. Like Sir Peter Isherwell wanted to mine the asteroid. As if the changing climate is someone else’s headache. As if we will magically find another Earth-like planet to escape on a spaceship.
It all seems so bizarre. Because President Orlean and Peter Isherwell are no more caricatures. They live among us. And Don’t Look Up is no more a movie. It’s a 138-minute compact show of the dark, dark satire playing very much in real time around us.
