COP26 sharply criticized as the ‘most exclusionary’ climate summit ever

Published

3 years ago

November 6, 2021

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. President Joe Biden react during the “Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment” session during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain November 2, 2021.

Jeff J Mitchell | Reuters

GLASGOW, Scotland — Climate campaigners and environmental activists have sharply criticized the organization of the COP26 climate summit, describing U.N.-brokered talks as the most exclusionary they have ever known.

The meeting, which formally opened on Sunday, has been billed as humanity’s last and best chance to prevent the worst of what the climate crisis has in store. The U.K. is presiding over the talks in Glasgow, Scotland through to Nov. 12.

Logistical difficulties, the exclusion of people with disabilities and a lack of attendees from the Global South are just some of the criticisms leveled at the event organizers.

The COP26 presidency was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC on Friday.

“I’d like to be polite,” Asad Rehman, a spokesperson for the COP26 coalition, told CNBC Tuesday when asked about his experience of COP26 so far. “But it will go down as the worst planned, worst organized and least effective COP that I have ever known. It is just unbelievable.”

Rehman, who said he had been attending U.N. climate talks for over a decade, estimated that only one-third of the usual number of participants representing the Global South had been able to attend COP26 due to Covid-19 restrictions, a lack of affordable accommodation and an inability to access the conference.

This “seriously undermines” the credibility of the meeting, he said, before adding that some civil society groups in attendance had also been “locked out” of negotiations. The COP26 coalition is a U.K.-based group that represents indigenous communities, frontline activists and grassroots campaigns from the Global South.

The start of the week saw chaotic scenes outside the venue, with attendees stuck in long lines trying to gain access to the complex at the SEC in Glasgow.

COP26 President Alok Sharma told reporters earlier in the week that he “regrets” delegates have had to endure lengthy lines to enter the venue.

“This is a unique COP in quite extraordinary times,” Sharma said on Wednesday. “Of course, we regret any logistical issues that people feel are stopping them coming in in a timely manner. I hope that will settle over the next few days.”

‘Two week celebration of business as usual’

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who is expected to take part in a climate protest on Friday with thousands of other young people, said COP26 could no longer be considered a climate conference.

“This is a Global North greenwash festival,” Thunberg said via Twitter on Thursday, referencing criticism that the Glasgow summit has been described as “the most excluding COP ever.”

“A two week celebration of business as usual and blah blah blah,” she added.

It follows a pledge from the U.K. government to make the Glasgow summit “the most inclusive COP ever,” saying extra measures would be put in place to alleviate concerns about safety and inclusivity at the event amid the coronavirus pandemic.

However, U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa admitted that measures put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic meant the summit could not be as accessible as previous COPs.

The Climate Action Network, a global alliance of more than 1,500 environmental campaign groups, called for the event to be postponed in early September, citing concerns that it would be “impossible” to ensure a safe, inclusive and just global climate conference.

Alexandria Villasenor, a youth U.S. climate activist, has described the summit as an “exclusionary dystopian hellscape.”

“First, it’s true, there’s one entrance for 20k attendees, it’s like a single file line for everyone to get in and get through security. I’ve spent 4 hours in line over the past 2 days. It’s chaos and a failure on the part of the organizers,” Villaseñor said via Twitter on Wednesday.

The 16-year-old said civil society groups and NGO observers had been unable to access negotiation spaces in-person and were instead left to observe the main plenary sessions online in a separate room.

Villasenor also criticized the summit for failing to consider the inclusion of people with disabilities, citing no sign language interpreters on the COP26 stage and no wheelchair access.

Israel Energy Minister Karine Elharrar was unable to take part in the COP26 summit at the start of the week because the venue was not wheelchair accessible. She has since criticized the U.N. for failing to provide accessibility to its events despite it promoting the importance of ensuring accessibility to those with disabilities.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized to Elharrar when the pair met on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Dipti Bhatnagar, a climate justice and energy co-coordinator for Friends of the Earth International, an environmental group, said last week that the U.K. was on course to deliver “the most exclusionary COP ever.”

Bhatnagar, who was not able to travel to Glasgow from Mozambique where she is based, said on Sunday: “The chaotic and last minute nature of plans to help support participation from overseas are too little too late for many delegates from global south countries.”

“It is hard to see how COP26’s outcomes could be considered fair and legitimate with those on the frontline of climate impacts unable to make their voices heard in the streets of Glasgow and in the halls of the COP,” she added.

Environment

Tesla (TSLA) brings back FSD transfer, offers $2,000 loyalty discount amid demand crisis

Published

1 hour ago

April 25, 2025

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Tesla (TSLA) is reintroducing Full Self-Driving (FSD) transfers and offering $2,000 loyalty discounts on the new Model Y to existing owners amid a demand surge.

Yesterday, we reported that Tesla is starting to have new Model Y inventory in the US, just weeks after launching the updated vehicle.

Now, Tesla has pulled new demand levers to drive sales of these vehicles.

First, last night, Tesla began sending emails to early Model Y owners in the US, offering them a $2,000 discount on upgrading to the new Model Y.

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This is an unusual type of discount for Tesla and a significant one.

On top of the direct loyalty discount, Tesla also announced that it is bringing back “FSD transfer” on all vehicles in the US:

‘Vox populi, Vox Dei’. Tesla says that it’s by popular demand that it is coming back, but that’s true. It’s because Tesla needs it.

If it were by popular demand, FSD transfer would always be available to Tesla owners as long as Tesla hasn’t delivered on its promise of delivering unsupervised full self-driving. That would simply be the right thing to do and what most owners, who are not also Tesla shareholders, have been asking for years.

But instead, Tesla is using its own inability to deliver a product it promised and sold as a way to create more demand for its newer vehicles.

In the summer of 2023, CEO Elon Musk finally agreed to allow FSD transfers after owners had asked him for years, but not because it was the right thing to do. Instead, he said it would be a “one-time amnesty” for a single quarter. Tesla used this to boost sales in the quarter.

Tesla ended up bringing back the incentive four more times when it needed to boost orders, making Musk a liar for saying it would only be for a quarter. By claiming it’s only for this one time, Tesla is creating urgency in trying to get people to upgrade – instead of doing the right thing and offering everyone who bought FSD the ability to transfer until Tesla actually delivers on its promise.

Electrek’s Take

‘Vox populi, Vox Dei’. That’s funny. It’s Latin for “the voice of the people, the voice of God.” But it should be more “vox necessitatis, vox pecuniae,” which is “the voice of necessity, the voice of money.”

That’s not by popularity. If Tesla were doing what owners wanted and what is right, FSD transfer would be permanent and available to any Tesla owner who purchased the FSD package, until Tesla delivers on what it promised.

Tesla is doing this now because it needs it. It already has no backlog of orders for the new Model Y in the US and it is testing out these incentives before going back to offering 0% financing, likely in the coming weeks.

Something interesting to note is that these incentives are both technically loyalty incentives, as they apply to existing owners.

Tesla used to have incredible customer loyalty, but that has changed in the last few months due to Elon Musk.

I’d be curious to see how successful they are and if it can convince some people who swore off Tesla because of Musk to actually get another one.

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Environment

Wheel-E Podcast: Tenways cargo e-bike, Lime mopeds, EUCs, more

Published

3 hours ago

April 25, 2025

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Wheel-E Podcast: Tenways cargo e-bike, Lime mopeds, EUCs, more

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes a new cargo e-bike launch from Tenways, Lime bringing its new e-bike and e-moped to its larger fleets, testing a 100 mile e-bike, California’s e-bike vouchers are set to open again in another lottery round, a new electric unicycle from InMotion, and more.

Today’s episode is brought to you by retrospec—makers of sleek, powerful e-bikes and outdoor gear built for everyday adventure. Electrek listeners can get 10% off their next ride until May 8th with the exclusive code ELECTREK10 only at retrospec.com.

The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

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After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

We also have a Patreon if you want to help us to avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 9:00 a.m. ET (or the video after 10:00 a.m. ET):

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Environment

Redditor: my Polestar 2 window stopped a bullet from hitting me [pictures]

Published

13 hours ago

April 25, 2025

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Redditor: my Polestar 2 window stopped a bullet from hitting me [pictures]

This one’s pretty simple, kids – it’s exactly what it says on the tin: a Polestar 2 owner took to the Polestar subreddit this week claiming that the window glass in his new EV actually stopped a bullet from hitting him. Plus, he says he’s got the pictures to prove it. (!)

The brand may be evolving into its own, but the OG Polestar 1 and Polestar 2 were little more than hot electric versions of Volvo cars – and Volvo cars are known throughout the world for their secure, planted feel on the road and absolutely bananas high-tensile steel safety cages. As such, it should come as no surprise that the Polestar 2 is one of the safest sedans on the road today … but is the car really bulletproof?

That’s what one redditor is claiming after his window was hit by what they believed to be a stray bullet just five days after taking delivery.

Polestar stopped a bullet.
byu/CptMerica29 inPolestar

Now, as the growing brand rivalry between Polestar fans and their Tesla-driving counterparts might lead you to expect, some of the comments are pretty pointedly referencing Tesla – and pretty funny. Here are a few of my favorites:

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Comment
byu/CptMerica29 from discussion
in Polestar

Now, that was fun, sure – but it’s worth noting that a number of commenters claiming alternately that there’s no way this was a .22 caliber bullet (certainly not a .22 WMR) or that it was a stray shot from very far away. The consensus seems to be that a .177 caliber air gun pellet is most likely to blame, but my money is on a small piece of stone or gravel kicked up at a weird angle from a nearby vehicle.

Regardless, it seems like CptMerica29 is A-OK, and their Polestar 2 hardly seems worse for wear, either. Here’s hoping it’s the last time we have to have a debate about what kind of bullet was being fired at an EV driver for a long time.

If you’d like to try your hand at driving a Polestar 2 through a volley of flying debris and other assorted projectiles and letting us know how you do, click the link below to score a great deal on one near you (while you still can):

Disclaimer

I would like to believe this is obvious, but there’s a “do not use batteries as toothpaste” sticker on this pack of Duracell batteries for a reason, so I’m going to err on the side of caution here and tell any of you reading the above and taking it seriously that: I am kidding. That was a joke.

To be clear, it is my position that NO VEHICLE this side of a Mercedes-Benz EQS GUARD or Inkas Armored S Class is actually bulletproof – and that, yes, a .22 is a real gun with plenty of lethal stopping power and, also yes, a pellet gun can and has killed a lot of people. DO NOT SHOOT AT CARS, and do not sit in your cars and let others shoot at you if you can at all avoid it.

As getsome75 so eloquently puts it: