KW-47 Thoughts on COP

10, 9, 8 ....

I don’t usually comment much on COPs. I’ve been following them for decades, and in the past, it’s always been more or less possible describe them as well-meaning but delusional. They have always managed to navigate a line just on the side of optimistic that allows for a charge of cynic to be brought against those of us who doubt that the words will ever make it to actions.

But not COP-27. The one in the desert. Sponsored by CocaCola. I can’t, in the depths of the most generous parts of my soul, find a concise, cogent descriptor of the outcome that doesn’t include the non-parliamentary word lies.

There is no longer the possibility of naive optimism, and yet reading the almost rhapsodic headlines, gushing romantically about the Historic Loss and Damage deal, you might even be persuaded that, oh, I dunno, a historic deal was made. This is not true. A historic arrangement to sit around another table at some point in the next year and discuss how to chuck some undefined money provided by unknown countries in the direction of the global south is not what I call a done deal. With all the love and generosity I can muster, I predict with absolute confidence that this will not in any meaningful way happen.

I saw one thing at COP that made sense. That was the opening speech from the secretary-general of the United Nations, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres. Every line is worth reading, and meditating upon. I urge you to read it today, but find a time when you can really digest the words.

We are in the fight of our lives. 

And we are losing. 

Let them impact you, and then ask yourself - are we losing? In the opinion of this pirate, no, we are not. We have already lost.

The incoming collapse of human civilisation as we recognise it is almost impossible to imagine.

My job, the role of this pirate and of these barracks is to try to imagine it.

It is now too big a job, with too much urgency, for me to do on my own. I feel my own usefulness slipping away. And so - a plan.

I am going to set up three groups. The first one, which I haven’t given a name to yet met for the first time last week. I might call it The Barracks Steering Committee, but I could possibly end up calling it The Barracks Hi Roller Special because that’s a way less urgh of a name and if you can’t bring a smile to your doom, what’s the point of being a happy doomer in the first place. It was supremely helpful, and thank you to those who took part. We’re going to meet probably irregularly, mostly when I am having a breakdown.

The second group is going to be the Special Plan Action Group - Barracks Of Love or SPAG-BOL for short. This is the bunch of humans that stops me having a breakdown in the first place, because we will be the people who write emails, make plans, put things into action. I have an absolute tonne of ideas for SPAG-BOL, and membership is open to anyone who has not given up just yet, who believes in the barracks, and wants to spend one or two hours a week directing their energies into the most amazing projects.

I can’t wait to tell you all about the Free Energy project that I have up my sleeve. But let’s get it going first, then I will share.

• EDIT - if you’re reading this online, I’ve just found out that the voting thing doesn’t let me see who voted! Which is silly. Please email info@thebarracks.de, or contact me on any social. I am thepirateben on basically all of them :)

The third group is the community group. Also known as the Doomer Zoomer.

This will be a monthly meet-up over Zoom, with no real purpose other than to acknowledge and celebrate the fact that it’s good to talk. It can be a lonely experience, being aware of what is coming. This will be a space to explore what it means, think about collapse, and face the future with eyes wide open, and hopefully without fear. If that is even possible from within a human shell. I think it would be best to start this off small, so in the first instance, I’m going to ask the paying members of this newsletter if they want to get involved, and then open it up later as we work out a format and decide what we want from it.

And so, until next time, pirates of the anthropocene.

Much love

Your Pirate Ben

xoxo

PS - I got the potato chipper.