World leaders gathered in Egypt this month for a summit to address climate change, but thanks to heavy lobbying by Saudi Arabia, they couldn’t quite bring themselves to put into writing the two main culprits behind climate change: humans and their consumption of fossil fuels. If the major and minor nations of the world can’t agree on a common statement outlining what is causing the world’s rapidly escalating climate disasters, how can they ever hope to impose effective solutions?
The omission from the climate summit’s final communique is a monument to Saudi Arabia’s ability to throw its weight — or, more appropriately, its money and petroleum resources — around to create an artificial image that all’s right in the world as long as everyone keeps burning oil.
The Saudis have tried “sportswashing” to clean up the kingdom’s tattered international image by bribing professional golfers to join a Saudi-sponsored international tour. The best soccer team money could buy just whipped Argentina at the World Cup soccer tournament. All this to distract the world from what U.S. intelligence agencies say is the Saudi crown prince’s complicity in the murder and dismemberment of journalist and Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
