With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass

SCENES at Cop28 have been a retreat from nativity into pantomime. For the real world, it drifted closer to tragedy. As the deadline approached, climate activists held their breath — but fossil lobbyists held the pursestrings.
A host of good people worked their socks off in Dubai, all urging world leaders to grasp the existential emergency we face. But the 2,456 accredited fossil-fuel lobbyists at Cop28 had other plans.
They were determined that no wise men or women would arrive on camels. No precious gifts would be offered as tributes to the wonders of creation. Instead, the great unwise, descended from private planes, only offering trinkets and small change; all as a distraction from the greatest threat to life as we know it.
ALAN SIMPSON warns of a dystopian crossroads where Trump’s wrecking ball meets AI-driven alienation, and argues only a Green New Deal can repair our fractured society before techno-feudalism consumes us all


