Yesterday the G8 in Italy agreed, in principle, to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. This is hopelessly inadequate — see http://www.sub350.org/ — but it’s the best we can expect from industrial nations. That said, nothing was actually committed to. Oh, and there is no evidence that this cut will actually take place.

Nevertheless, Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister, was cock-a-hoop about the agreement, and he wanted to make sure we all knew it. Here is a recording from BBC Radio last night of him briefly talking about it, with some introduction at the beginning:

Gordon Brown, BBC 5 Live, on the G8 carbon agreement.

I heard him say it, and realised that it made no sense at all. It was good for carbon emissions? I’m sure the carbon emissions are loving it, but Gordon, why are you talking about jobs and growth when this is about protecting the future of humanity? And then I realised, the mentions of the environment (sorry our environment, because we own it, don’t we?) and carbon emissions had just been hastily spliced into his capital-obsessed train of thought.

The clip only made sense when I removed the offending sections (note, I didn’t swap any of this around, just deleted):

Gordon Brown, BBC 5 Live, and what he really meant to say.

Honestly, anyone would think the future of humanity on Earth mattered…