United Nations – mackaycartoons

Wednesday September 24, 2025

September 24, 2025 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday September 24, 2025

Allies Defy U.S. Stance, Recognize Palestinian Statehood

May 27 2025

In recent weeks, a significant shift has occurred on the international stage as several traditional U.S. allies—including Canada, Australia, France, and the UK—have taken the bold step of recognizing Palestinian statehood. While this move is largely symbolic, it underscores a growing impatience with the status quo and a desire to reinvigorate the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The recognition of Palestinian statehood by these nations is a direct response to the ongoing hostilities and humanitarian crises in Gaza, which have persisted with little sign of resolution. As noted in recent coverage, the coalition of countries pushing for recognition reflects a collective frustration with the lack of urgency in achieving a ceasefire and a sustainable peace.

News: Carney says Canada needs to lessen reliance on U.S. and what Trump posts online

March 6, 2025

Prime Minister Netanyahu, facing pressure from extremists within his own party, has maintained a hardline stance that precludes negotiation until Hamas is eliminated. Similarly, President Trump, influenced by similar pressures within the U.S., has aligned with these hardline policies, further complicating the prospects for peace. The symbolic gestures by Canada, Australia, and others serve as a counter-narrative, emphasizing the need for dialogue and a two-state solution as the path forward.

The Trump administration’s steadfast support for Israel, coupled with its veto power at the United Nations, means that formal recognition of Palestinian statehood is unlikely to proceed under current U.S. leadership. However, this does not diminish the significance of the international community’s actions. By recognizing Palestinian statehood, these countries are signalling their commitment to a peace process that has, for too long, been stalled.

As Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada articulated, there is a desire to move beyond the unpredictability of U.S. policy shifts and assert a more independent foreign policy. This sentiment is echoed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who emphasized that Australia’s decisions are based on national interests and values, not external pressures.

News: Europe, Canada, Saudi Arabia poke at Trump with Palestinian statehood

August 13, 2025

The symbolic recognition of Palestinian statehood is, at its core, an acknowledgment that the current chapter of perpetual conflict must end. It reflects a vision for the future where a two-state solution is not merely an aspiration but a tangible goal. While the challenges are immense, the international community’s actions represent a call to action—a reminder that peace requires not just words, but meaningful steps toward change.

In the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, these gestures of recognition are a testament to the enduring belief in diplomacy and the power of collective action. They remind us that even in the darkest moments, there remains hope for a brighter future—a future where statehood for Palestine is not just a symbol, but a reality.

Published in the Toronto Star.

Trump’s Anti-science Legacy: A Recipe for Ignorance

In a time when the intersection of science and policy is more crucial than ever, President Trump has emerged as the most anti-science leader in American history. His recent baseless claims linking Tylenol to autism, coupled with a long-standing dismissal of climate change, underscore a troubling disregard for established scientific consensus. Under his influence, misinformation has thrived, eroding public trust in critical institutions and experts.

Donald Trump: Dirtiest U.S. President Ever

From downplaying the realities of global warming to promoting unfounded health theories, Trump’s rhetoric consistently undermines the rigorous work of scientists worldwide. This rejection of evidence-based research leaves the nation vulnerable to crises that demand informed and decisive action. By sidelining science, Trump’s leadership not only jeopardizes current public health and environmental efforts but also sets a dangerous precedent for future governance.

As history unfolds, President Trump’s tenure will likely be scrutinized through the lens of his anti-science stance. His consistent dismissal of scientific evidence, from climate change to health misinformation, paints a picture of a leader who prioritized personal beliefs over empirical truth. In time, he may be remembered as an ignorant buffoon and quack, whose disregard for science hindered progress and sowed confusion when clarity was desperately needed. The challenges we face demand leaders who elevate knowledge and expertise; Trump’s legacy serves as a cautionary tale of the perils of ignoring science in shaping our world.

This editorial cartoon was originally published July 21, 2020 before being modified in 2025.

Wednesday November 13, 2024

November 13, 2024 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 13, 2024

As the Climate Crisis Worsens, COP29 Feels Like a Show Without Substance

November 18, 2022

As COP29 opens in Azerbaijan, this year’s UN climate summit has quickly become less about hope and more about the world’s inability—or unwillingness—to unite on the climate crisis. The event has turned into a forum of empty promises and political theatrics, leaving little to encourage those looking for serious, concrete action. With catastrophic climate events mounting worldwide and the incoming U.S. administration preparing to withdraw from the Paris Accord, we are rapidly moving from a critical juncture to a dangerous decline in global climate cooperation.

The backdrop to COP29 is a world grappling with relentless climate disasters. In the U.S., North Carolina was battered by unprecedented flooding, while wildfires and smoke in California and New York have turned once-safe communities into danger zones. Across the Atlantic, Spain’s Valencia recently experienced its worst floods in modern history. Scientists warn that each year of inaction accelerates the damage, yet the atmosphere at COP29 is anything but urgent. This is underscored by the absence of major players. President Joe Biden skipped the conference altogether following Trump’s election victory, while China sent only a deputy and the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen stayed away entirely.

News: Why Is a Petrostate Holding This Year’s Climate Talks?

December 17, 2022

Without the presence of such key world leaders, the climate talks risk becoming what frustrated observers see as little more than a stage for empty rhetoric. That’s further compounded by the rhetoric from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who used his keynote to lambast Western critics of his country’s oil industry rather than championing true climate action. His speech, coupled with remarks from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the absurdity of doubling down on fossil fuels, shows the fractured reality: a tug-of-war between national interests and the well-being of the planet.

With climate finance taking centre stage, wealthy nations are once again being called to pay a fair share. For more than a decade, these countries have promised, and often failed, to mobilize $100 billion per year to support developing nations in mitigating climate impacts and shifting to cleaner energy. Canada, for instance, increased its pledge to $5.3 billion over five years, a figure that many argue is far too modest for the nation’s historical emissions contribution. Even with some countries pushing for increased commitments, the existing funding falls drastically short of the UN’s estimated need of $1.46 trillion annually by 2030—a figure that dwarfs current pledges and feels insurmountable given the economic and political landscapes.

News: COP29 climate summit host Azerbaijan lashes out at West in defence of oil and gas industry

November 10, 2021

Reader responses capture the growing discontent: many Canadians feel their tax dollars are being wasted on foreign climate pledges while fossil fuel subsidies at home keep the industry alive and well. Despite climate commitments, Canada continues to hand billions in subsidies to oil and gas sectors, mirroring a broader global hypocrisy. Meanwhile, developing nations who suffer the harshest climate impacts are left struggling to access funds while shouldering mounting debts.

Casting a dark shadow over COP29 is the election of Donald Trump, who has vowed to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Accord for the second time. This move threatens to destabilize any fragile climate consensus and will make America, the world’s largest historic carbon emitter, a climate rogue. With the U.S. pivoting away from international climate commitments, other nations may follow suit, leaving the Paris Accord toothless. Trump’s resurgence has emboldened climate denial and encouraged other fossil fuel interests, making it seem as though the world is stepping backward just as the effects of climate change become impossible to ignore.

One of the most damning aspects of the climate negotiations is the dual-track approach to funding. On one hand, wealthy nations direct money to initiatives like the Green Climate Fund, which funds renewable energy projects in low-income countries. On the other, these same countries funnel billions into fossil fuel subsidies to maintain their own energy security and economy. This two-faced approach not only undercuts climate finance but undermines the entire notion of a “green transition.” These contradictions leave everyday people wondering if the “green” in “green transition” refers more to money than to true environmental commitment.

News: How much does Canada owe in climate aid? A trillion-dollar question headlines COP29

November 4, 2023

Adding insult to injury, many climate finance contributions come as loans rather than grants, which traps poorer countries in debt rather than giving them the tools to build strong, independent green economies. Despite Canada’s pledge to move toward a 50-50 split between grants and loans, this ratio falls far short of the 60-40 split advocated by environmental groups. For small island nations and low-income countries already crippled by climate impacts, these loans feel like a betrayal.

The tragedy of COP29 is not just that it’s failing to deliver, but that it risks becoming irrelevant. With other global priorities—security, economic inflation, geopolitical conflicts—taking precedence, the climate crisis is slipping down the agenda for the countries most responsible for the damage. If wealthy nations remain unwilling to either act at home or support vulnerable nations abroad, the question will become not how we stop the climate crisis, but how we survive it.

July 30, 2024

The reality is bleak. In a world where wealthy nations hedge their bets on fossil fuel stability while paying lip service to climate goals, climate summits like COP29 become pageants of performative diplomacy rather than engines of change. The urgency of the climate crisis demands more than grandstanding; it requires coordinated global sacrifice and an unwavering commitment to real, painful change. Until world leaders confront their own contradictions and take true responsibility, every COP will be a hollow gathering of bluster, hypocrisy, and lost opportunity.

It’s time for action, not theatrics. We may not get another chance.

As COP29 opens in Azerbaijan, the climate summit spotlights a series of contradictions that paint a picture more of hypocrisy than of hope. In his keynote, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev dismissed Western criticisms of his country’s oil reliance as “slander and blackmail.” His stance underscores the global paradox—leaders encourage a green transition but often default to fossil fuels, not least in resource-rich nations.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres followed Aliyev’s speech with a stark call-out: doubling down on fossil fuels, he argued, is an “absurd” strategy. Yet Guterres’s critique applies globally, not least to Canada, where green rhetoric runs headlong into the hard numbers: in 2023 alone, Ottawa shelled out over $18.6 billion in subsidies for fossil fuels, including billions for the Trans Mountain pipeline, financing for exports, and carbon capture ventures. Canada might fancy itself a climate champion, but it remains deeply invested in its petrostate reality.

Meanwhile, COP29’s developing-world attendees are justified in their frustration. They’ve been promised that wealthy countries would mobilize $100 billion annually since 2009 for climate adaptation. That goal, missed for years and only achieved in 2022, barely scratches the surface of what’s needed. It’s telling that even the Taliban—a group not often linked to environmental progress—arrived at COP29, urging wealthy nations to compensate for a crisis they “created.” That irony is rich, as is the uneasy spectacle of the world’s most powerful nations discussing climate finance in the luxurious halls of Baku.

But the circus hardly ends there. Despite promises of “sacrifice for the planet,” leaders in wealthier nations backslide when convenient—case in point, Justin Trudeau’s carve-out for home heating oil subsidies to placate Atlantic Canadian voters. As developing nations and vulnerable communities around the world brace for more severe climate impacts, it’s hard not to question whether the COP model, given its current direction, serves the world’s climate needs or is just window-dressing for yet another round of political expediency.

With the return of a climate-skeptic U.S. administration and high-profile absences from global leaders, COP29 feels more like a fractious forum for unmet promises and entrenched interests than the decisive moment we need. The stakes for climate action have never been higher, but with fossil fuel subsidies unabated and key leaders disengaged, the question lingers: can this COP deliver anything more than lip service to a rapidly worsening crisis?

– The Graeme Gallery

Read on Substack

Thursday April 25, 2024

April 25, 2024 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday April 25, 2024

Moving Beyond Rhetoric – Time for Real Solutions to Plastic Pollution

January 18, 2022

In the wake of recent international conferences and negotiations aimed at addressing plastic pollution, one can’t help but feel a sense of skepticism lingering in the air. The promises of global treaties and domestic initiatives to combat plastic waste often sound promising on paper, yet the reality on the ground tells a different story.

Consider the latest discussions in Ottawa, where delegates from 175 countries convened to develop a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution. Ambitious goals were set to mobilize the entire world and create a future free of plastic pollution by 2040. While these aspirations are admirable, they must be met with tangible actions and transformative strategies to truly make a difference.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault rightly pointed out the shortcomings of our current recycling practices, acknowledging that they simply “won’t cut it” in the fight against plastic pollution. He emphasized the need for a shift towards a circular economy, focusing on reuse rather than mere recycling. This sentiment resonates with many who have grown weary of the recycling mantra that seems to have yielded little progress over the years.

News: Poverty. Sovereignty. The war in Ukraine. As countries try to agree on fixing plastic, here’s what’s in their way

November 30, 2023

Furthermore, the allocation of funds to support Canadian businesses in developing technologies to address plastic waste is a step in the right direction. However, these investments must be part of a larger, concerted effort to revolutionize how we produce, consume, and dispose of plastics.

Dimple Roy, from the International Institute for Sustainable Development, highlighted the urgency of addressing microplastic pollution in freshwater systems. This underscores the interconnectedness of our ecosystems and the need for comprehensive solutions that encompass all aspects of the plastic lifecycle.

April 24, 2018

Yet, amidst these discussions and initiatives, the public remains skeptical. We meticulously sort our recyclables, only to discover that much of it ends up in landfills or incinerators. We witness the proliferation of biodegradable alternatives that fail to gain widespread acceptance due to their own set of environmental trade-offs.

It’s time to move beyond the rhetoric of “reduce, reuse, recycle” and embrace a paradigm shift in our approach to plastic pollution. We need bold policies that incentivize sustainable practices, innovative technologies that offer viable alternatives to plastics, and a cultural shift towards conscious consumption.

News: Ottawa looking for Canadian-made solutions for plastic pollution

March 6, 2015

Let us not be swayed by empty promises or symbolic gestures. The time for action is now. We must hold our leaders and policymakers accountable for delivering on their commitments to protect our planet from the scourge of plastic pollution.

As negotiations continue and initiatives are rolled out, let’s demand more than just words on paper. Let’s demand real, meaningful change that leaves a lasting impact on our environment and future generations.

In the battle against plastic pollution, we cannot afford to settle for anything less.

The packaging industry is worth more than a trillion dollars per year globally, and with e-commerce extending the supply chain from the extraction of raw materials to the hands of the consumer, it has never been more important to the functioning of the global economy.

But in sustainability terms, packaging is a problem. Continued: Packaging a problem, January 23, 2023

Friday January 12, 2024

January 12, 2024 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday January 12, 2024

Questions and Actions on Gaza on Israel’s war on Hamas

December 20, 2023

In the wake of the recent hearing at the World Court where South Africa accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, skepticism looms large over the potential impact of any ruling on the actions against Israel through the United Nations. While the international community engages in a legal discourse, doubts persist about the ability of the UN to enforce meaningful measures should the court eventually rule in favour of South Africa’s case.

The gravity of the allegations, coupled with impassioned debates within the courtroom, paints a somber picture of the ongoing conflict in Gaza. However, history has shown us that the World Court’s decisions often encounter significant challenges when it comes to translating verdicts into tangible actions, particularly against powerful nations.

News: Israel officials support Gaza destruction, court hears

December 14, 2023

The term “genocide” itself carries immense weight, implying not only a moral failure but also demanding concrete steps to prevent further atrocities. The United Nations, as a global governing body, has been tasked with upholding justice and international law. However, its ability to enforce decisions remains questionable, leaving room for doubt regarding the effectiveness of any potential ruling in curbing Israel’s actions.

The cynicism surrounding the proceedings is not unfounded. In the past, instances where the World Court ruled against nations accused of grave violations, the actual implementation of sanctions or punitive measures has been limited. The lack of a robust enforcement mechanism within the UN, coupled with geopolitical complexities, often renders the court’s decisions toothless.

February 20, 2021

The skepticism is not confined to the courtroom; it extends to the international arena where political alliances and interests play a pivotal role. The powerful nations within the UN Security Council hold significant sway, making it challenging to orchestrate collective action against any member state, even in the face of serious allegations.

Additionally, the complexities of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with its deep-rooted historical, religious, and geopolitical dimensions, further complicate the prospects of effective UN action. The political stalemate and divergent global perspectives on the matter cast shadows of doubt on the feasibility of translating a legal verdict into concrete, impactful measures.

As the world awaits the World Court’s decision and potential future actions by the United Nations, the skepticism prevailing in the minds of many is a stark reminder of the challenges inherent in addressing grave allegations on the international stage. The gap between legal discussions and practical measures underscores the need for a more robust and effective global governance system that can truly enforce justice and accountability, irrespective of the geopolitical intricacies at play. Until then, the world watches with bated breath, skeptical of any real change emerging from the corridors of the World Court and the chambers of the United Nations. (AI)

Thursday November 30, 2023

November 30, 2023 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 30, 2023

Navigating Diplomacy at COP28: Guilbeault’s Uphill Battle

November 4, 2023

As the world anticipates the United Nations summit on climate change, the focus broadens beyond the global initiatives to combat environmental challenges, delving into the intricate dynamics of diplomacy within the conference halls. Canada’s Environment Minister, Steven Guilbeault, once a fervent advocate for climate action, now faces a unique challenge as he steps into the complex tapestry of COP28.

Guilbeault’s journey through COP28 takes an unexpected turn with the presence of Premier Danielle Smith and Premier Scott Moe of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Their approach to the conference diverges from the global narrative of reducing reliance on fossil fuels, appearing more inclined towards sustaining the fossil fuel industry in their provinces.

Analysis: Alberta could lead the energy transition. But Danielle Smith’s approach and Ottawa’s subsidies are a toxic combination

May 31, 2023

Premier Smith ardently champions Alberta’s “clean” fossil fuel industry, particularly emphasizing carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a solution to cut emissions. However, recent reports from the International Energy Agency cast doubt on the global efficacy of CCS, challenging its status as a transformative solution.

As Premier Smith confidently strides into COP28, accompanied by over a hundred Alberta delegates, the inherent conflict of interest becomes apparent. The conference, hosted by Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of the UAE’s national oil company, ADNOC, and the UAE’s climate envoy, raises suspicions of a conflict of interest, especially with leaked documents indicating Al Jaber’s intention to broker oil and gas deals during the conference.

This sets the stage for an uncomfortable encounter between Smith and Guilbeault. Smith’s dismissal of Guilbeault as a “maverick” who “doesn’t seem to care about the Constitution” adds a layer of tension. While the federal government’s alignment with Alberta on promoting carbon capture and storage might offer a semblance of common ground, Smith’s move to invoke the sovereignty act against federal Clean Electricity Regulations hints at a deeper divide.

News: COP28: UAE planned to use climate talks to make oil deals

November 18, 2022

Guilbeault, tasked with advancing Canada’s commitment to fighting climate change, finds himself navigating a complex diplomatic landscape. As Premier Smith revels in her pro-oil-and-gas message, Guilbeault stands at the forefront, grappling with the clash between provincial and federal interests. It’s a delicate dance where finding common ground may prove elusive, especially considering the apparent disparity between the goals of the Prairie premiers and the broader global agenda for sustainability.

In this complex diplomatic ballet at COP28, Guilbeault represents the struggle to reconcile conflicting interests for the greater environmental good, a task that becomes even more challenging in the face of the unabashed promotion of fossil fuels under the guise of environmental responsibility by Prairie premiers.

The challenges at COP28 are not just about the global fight against climate change but also the nuanced struggles within the delegation halls. Steven Guilbeault finds himself at the heart of this intricate dance, striving to balance conflicting interests while championing the broader environmental agenda. (AI)