JACKETS AS A SYMBOL OF RESPECTABILITY
I suppose reactions like this explain the vexing matter of the jacket, an item Turner deems an illogical “totem pole of respectability,” even in cooler climes.
Men set off to meetings in a jacket that makes them too hot, he told me, so they take it off and carry it until they can put it on the back of a chair, where they leave it until it’s time to leave. “It’s bizarre.”
Personally, I have always envied the way a man can use a jacket like a mobile handbag, stuffing its pockets with his wallet, phone, and keys. In places like Belem, though, the jacket made zero sense.
Still, things have been worse at these conferences. Although the general state of COP attire tends to veer more towards the casual than the smart, there are limits.
Some years ago at a COP in Poland, an adviser to developing country delegates lashed out at negotiators from Australia, then led by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, a critic of robust climate action.
The adviser said Australians were not just being unnecessarily obstructive in the talks; they were also giggling, insensitive, and “wearing T-shirts.” They may have been ahead of their time.
In sweltering Belem last week, a T-shirt was the height of common dress sense. Cool, light, and notably capable of covering the most unruly type of chest hair.
