Johnson's pledges on the environment are worthless. Worse is how cynical they are | George Monbiot

Pledges are made to distract and placate us - but at this years UN biodiversity summit public anger cannot be extinguishedIt's the hope I can't stand. Every few years, governments gather to make solemn promises about the action they will take to defend the living world, then break them before the ink is dry. Today, at the virtual UN summit on biodiversity, they will move themselves to tears with the thought of the grand things they will do, then turn off their computers and sign another mining lease.Ten years ago, at the last summit, world leaders made a similar set of "inspirational" promises. Analysis published a fortnight ago showed that, of the 20 pledges agreed at Nagoya in Japan in 2010, not one has been met. The collapse of wildlife populations and our life-support systems has continued unabated: the world has now lost 68% of its wild vertebrates since 1970. It sounds brutal to say that these meetings are a total waste of time. But this is a generous assessment. By creating a false impression of progress, by assuaging fear and fobbing us off, these summits are a means not of accelerating action but thwarting it. Continue reading...