The After Dinner at the Pub Edition.

As previously mentioned yesterday (31/8/15) parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) began a five day meeting in Bonn, Germany. If nothing else this has inspired me to resume work on the June 11th (11/6/15) negotiating text of the Ad-Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform (ADP).

Focused on Section E: Adaptation and Loss & Damage I am currently working at a rate of around 1 paragraph per 45 minutes. There are 32 paragraphs. So while I'm happy to pledge that this section will be completed at some point before the end of the week beyond that I'm not making any promises.

I will say though say that if the method on Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC's) that I have previously outlined is adopted then the purpose of this section is really about establishing the ground rules for what can be negotiated within the technical annex. As a result while I will need to check and double check I'm pretty sure that Paragraph 4 can be excluded in it's entirety as it has been covered elsewhere.

For those familiar with this type of negotiation it is nothing new to see them blown and buffeted by those who wish to see the entire process fail. For example US President Barack Obama is currently hosting a controversial, rival summit in Alaska, US. Supposedly this brings together the Arctic nations to decide how best to manage the challenges that climate change presents to the region.

However one of the attendees is the Republic of Korea (RoK/South). Although I accept that there is a long running dispute over who controls the Korean Peninsula in no version of reality do I consider it part of the Arctic.

Due to those glaciers we've melted turning into heavy rain that's knocked out my satellite TV signal I've not been able to follow today's shooting of a police officer in Chicago, Illinois, US in as much detail as I'd like. However I suspect this is another example of the US trying to disrupt the Bonn meeting.

After all the US involvement is seen as key to the success of any climate climate change agreement and due to his racist agenda there is growing doubt over Obama's ability to ratify any such agreement domestically.

Although I am not yet happy to be nailed down to a firm position one clue that the Fox Lake shooting may be staged is that unlike the shooting of a white police officer in Houston, Texas, US by an alleged black suspect on Saturday (29/8/15) CNN feels happy to report on it. Feel free to speculate on whether that confidence comes from the fact that only 1 of the 3 suspects in Fox Lake is black.

After all experience tells us that wherever you are in the World if you address an anti-police protest celebrating a "diversity of tactics" and then two police officers are shot and killed you can expect some push back from the state. The fact that Obama is not prepared to provide that push back proves that simply he is a wimp.

Beyond that American interlude I am also trying to keep and eye on the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It almost goes without saying that rather then being an attempt to disrupt this latest Bonn meeting that is in fact a nasty war.

For example today it is widely suspected that ISIL once again used Sulphur Mustard Gas against Kurdish forces in Iraq. The international community is yet to respond with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Then of course there is the growing refugee crisis within the European Union (EU). Again far from being an attempt to disrupt this is an immediate crisis that needs to be dealt with now. With my father nearly scratching his Gran Torino on the way to the pub there is obviously a lot I could say to explain to Poland and Hungary about the fallacy of their position. However as with Ukraine I suspect that Obama would be on hand to drown me out by leading them in another chorus of; "Kampflied der Nationalsozialisten."

Much more interestingly though today Lebanese protesters staged a sit-in protest in their countries Department of the Environment. This is of course part of their "You Stink!" protest. Although this is what medical insurance companies would term a pre-existing condition throughout the last year I've frequently thought of Lebanon as a case study highlighting the advantages of a climate change agreement.

Although there have been long term problems with the Lebanese government - or lack thereof - the brilliantly named protests only really began back in July when the nation's only landfill site became full and was closed. Due to the expense of opening a new landfill site in such a highly populated country garbage collection stopped. 

What is really shocking about this is that Lebanon does not recycle. If it did there are many people who would not only be prepared to take their plastics, metals, papers etc off their hands they would also pay Lebanon for the privilege.

Done right a climate change agreement would help build the Lebanese government's capacity to set up a recycling system. After all a reduction in landfill would bring about a large reduction in methane - the most potent greenhouse gas (ghg) - and a large reduction in energy related carbon emissions. 

Off the top of my head I think that it requires around 70% less electricity to produce a can from aluminium then produce an aluminium can from scratch.

Lebanon however also provides an example with the problems in implementing clean development plans. In African nations such as Nigeria and across Caribbean states there is much talk of reducing ghg emissions by switching electricity generation from oil fuelled generators to grid scale power stations - even coal fired ones. 

Due to the 15 year civil war and various smaller wars with Israel Lebanon's power grid has largely been destroyed. In it's place the so-called "generator mafia" has emerged providing electricity from generators at a huge profit. 

If Lebanon were to attempt to make the shift from generators to power stations as part of the UNFCCC process then these organised crime syndicates are likely to violently oppose the move. As a result in terms of capacity building the peer review process could even include issues such as policing and national security.

So in summary I probably need to crack on with that.

20:30 on 1/9/15 (UK date).

Edited at around 20:50 on 1/9/15 (UK date) to add;

But not before I weigh in on the Idris Elba/Anthony Horowitz debate. Basically Horowitz said that Elba would be unsuitable for the James Bond role. In it's infinite wisdom Twitter decided that this was racist so Horowitz was forced to apologise.

I should point out that I'm only talking about this because on a lazy Sunday afternoon I actually read the article in question so when I saw this trending all day I found myself thinking; "Ohhh, I know the answer to this one."

At the behest of Ian Fleming's estate Horowitz has written the latest James Bond book "Trigger Mortis." A large part of the interview in promotion of this new book was about how Horowitz has tried to bring Fleming's creation into the modern era.

If you are familiar with Fleming's work you will know that he is pretty misogynistic, racist and anti-Semitic. For example the Bloefeld character and the S.P.E.C.T.R.E organisation is largely a metaphor for that infamous world-wide Jewish conspiracy.

In an effort to update the stories Horowitz has given Bond a gay, male best friend and the new story largely ends with two off the famous Bond girls turning around and going; "See you later James, we're off to have sex with each other."

It was in this context that Horowitz was asked if Elba could become the first black James Bond. This is a rumour that's long been circulated - mainly by Elba alone. Horowitz replied by saying that Elba was inappropriate for the role because he's "too street."

Rather then being a reference to Elba's skin colour this was about his general demeanour doesn't fit with the James Bond character.

With Horowitz citing "Casino Royale" as the best Bond film since "Goldfinger" I think this is best summed up by the scene from that film in which Eva Green's "Vesper Lynd" character takes Daniel Craig's Bond to pieces describing him as a street orphan who is sent to public school on a scholarship and despite a short stint in special forces stills wears his bespoke suit and designer watch (an Omega, dear) with contempt for his richer school mates.

Being unable to represent the British class systems ability to transform a street urchin into a fine young gentleman Elba is unsuited for the Bond role. Horowitz went on to suggest the public school educated Adrian Lester as a potential black Bond.

To that list I would also add David Oyelowo who played Martin Luther King in "Selma" although he did play a spy in TV's "Spooks" or Colin Salmon although he is slightly to old and has already appeared in Bond films playing a supporting character.