COP26: Fossil fuel industry has largest delegation: BBC News Review

COP26 continues this week.

And analysis shared with the BBC has found there are more representatives

from the fossil fuel industry than from a single country.

This is BBC News Review.

I'm Rob and to talk more about this story and the vocabulary,

we have Neil. Hello Neil.

Hi Rob and hello everyone.

If you want to test yourself on the vocabulary you learn in this programme,

there is a quiz on our website at bbclearningenglish.com.

Now, let's find out some more about the story from this BBC news report...

So, as you've just heard the COP26

climate summit in Glasgow

in Scotland, continues. It's in its second week now and the organisation,

Global Witness, claims that there are more representatives

from the fossil fuel industries at the conference

than from any single country.

Yeah. And we've got three words and expressions we can learn

about to talk about this story,

haven't we?

We have Rob. We have 'delegation', 'fossil' and 'swamp'.

So that's 'delegation', 'fossil' and 'swamp'.

And we're going to find out where these words appear in the news headlines.

So, what is your first headline

please, Neil?

OK, well, my first headline comes from the BBC and it is 'COP26,

fossil fuel industry has largest delegation at climate summit'.

That's 'delegation' - group of people chosen to represent an organisation.

That's right.

And it's spelt d-e-l-e-g-a-t-i-o-n

And a delegation is a group of delegates, is that right?

That's right, yes.

So a delegation is a group of people.

A delegation - but it's a group of people made up of delegates.

And delegates are people who are there to represent the interests

of an organisation. And that organisation could be a company or a country.

Right. Small and big.

OK, and we tend to say we 'send a delegation' somewhere,

don't we - to do something?

Yes, you send a delegation somewhere, so that you don't have to send all

of members of the organisation to express their opinion.

It's more efficient to have a small group

of people representing those views and opinions.

So those are the delegates and they make up the delegation.

What about the verb form.

I've heard about 'to delegate' something.

That's right, yes, there's a verb 'to delegate', notice the difference

in pronunciation.

It's spelt exactly the same way as delegate - a person - delegate.

But the verb is 'to delegate'.

Delegate. And you delegate work when you give it to somebody else to do on your behalf.

So, for example, this often happens -

your boss is too busy -

- says he's too busy or too lazy - and gives you that work to do.

They might say 'I'd like to delegate this work to you'. It means give you

the responsibility for doing it. And the act of doing that is delegation?  

Yes, so we come back to that word 'delegation' that

this is a slightly different meaning. So 'a delegation'

that we heard at the beginning,

is that group of people group - group of delegates,

but in this sense that we just talked about

from the verb 'to delegate' - that activity is 'delegation'.

OK, and if my boss was to delegate some work to me

and I want some more money for that, would I send a delegation

to the boss to demand more money for that?

No, again that is something that will happen at a higher level.

They would be more organised, more official.

So, if you were really upset about the fact

you'd been given some extra work to do, you might speak to your trade union,

if you were a member of a trade union,

and eventually they might organise a delegation,

or send some delegates to a meeting with your employer.

OK, right, understood!

Thanks for that Neil.

Let's have a summary of that word.

If you want to talk more about COP26,

we have a special one-off video that teaches you some useful vocabulary

about the conference and climate change in general.

Where can people see that video, Neil?

Yep, all they need to do is click on the link below

to learn some really crucial expressions such as 'net zero',

and 'circular economy'.

Just click on the link.

Down below. Thank you.

OK, what's your next headline please?

The next headline is from the Mail Online and it is 'COP26's

largest delegation? The fossil fuel industry!

More than five hundred people with links to oil and gas interests

are accredited for summit -

More than from any single country, says study.

That's 'fossil' - made from decayed materials from thousands of years ago.

Yeah, that's fossil f-o-s-s-i-l. And we're using this with 'fossil fuels'?

That's right. So, in this case

this is actually a fixed expression 'fossil fuel' and the 'fossil' refers

to the old materials and decaying animals from thousands and thousands

of years ago that turn into coal, turn into oil, that we then burn

and it puts that carbon into the atmosphere which is the problem.

And it relates to a fossil, which is something that I might find

on a beach for example.

It's like, erm, a shape of an old creature in a rock, isn't it?

That's right.

So this word 'fossil' is also often used in a very, sort of, similar,

similar meaning.

Those imprints or impressions of animals from thousands and thousands,

millions of years ago, that are inside rocks that have then compressed

over many thousands of years.

That is called 'a fossil'.

Yeah, but the 'fossil' in 'fossil fuels', as I say, are these old creatures

and plants, but not the actual shape of them, they're the actual decayed thing, aren't they?

That's right. Yeah.

Now, how come

I've heard you being called 'a fossil',

because you're not anything to do with the shape of something in a rock, are you?

And hopefully you can't set fire to me either!

Yes,OK, so we're talking about an insult here, Rob.

If you want to say that someone is very old, or has

very old fashioned ideas about something, you can refer to them as 'a fossil'.

You could say that person is 'a fossil'...

And also 'a dinosaur' I suppose - that's something from a long time ago.

Yes, you can also, with a similar meaning, refer to somebody with

old-fashioned views as 'a dinosaur'.

Yes, that's right.

Now, both of these are insults, but like with a lot of insults,

it depends on the context in which you use them -

it can be amusing and friendly

if it's amongst friends.

Yes, which is what it is when I'm calling you 'a fossil' OK!

When you called me 'a fossil'.

I've been had been around for a while at BBC Learning English, Rob

but I'm not sure I'm, I'm a fossil yet.

Not prehistoric are you yet!

No, that's right. OK, thanks for that.

Let's have a summary of that word.

In our Six Minute English programme,

we're asking 'is the planet warming up faster?'

and you can listen to a discussion about this by doing what, Neil?

Just click on the link that you find below.

Yes, have a look down below and click.

Great. OK, let's have a look at your next headline, please.

Yes, my next headline comes from The Mirror and it reads 'Exclusive! Outrage

as fossil fuel and nuclear power firms swamp COP26

with a thousand lobbyists.'

So that's 'swamp' - overwhelm with large numbers.

Yes, it's spelt s-w-a-m-p.

OK, so are we talking about a sort of wet, boggy area where alligators might live?

No, we're not.

Although that is a swamp. In the literal sense a swamp is an area

of land that is covered in water, but is not an ocean, it's not a sea

or a river. It's an area, low lying area of land, covered in water

and it's got sort of grass and reads sticking out of it. Typically,

as you said, alligators and other such creatures might live in this area.

And also an area that gets covered by water, or flooded

for example, get 'swamped',

doesn't it?

Yeah, so the verb 'to swamp' means to make an area, a swamp.

So, to cover in water, but we use this

like with many expressions, in a figurative way.

And that's how it's being used here. What this headline is saying

is that the conference,

the climate conference, has been swamped. That there had been a large number

of people from the fossil fuel industry attending the conference.

They are dominating it.

So, its numbers to excess, it's excessive, yes.

That's right, and we use in a similar way, the word 'flood' in a, in a figurative sense.

If something is flooded,

we can say that it is overwhelmed,

there are too many people from a certain organisation there.

This is also used to talk about having too much work, isn't it, Rob?

Yeah, you can be certainly swamped with work

and that's why I couldn't make that drink the other night

you invited me to, because I just had too much to do - I was swamped.

I was overwhelmed with all the amount of work

I had to do.

Yeah, that's a really good example,

though I feel sorry for you, Rob.

That's a good example of how to use 'swamp',

meaning having too much of something to deal with.

Were you swamped with beer maybe,

when you went to the pub without me?

I wasn't. I wasn't Rob. I was very sensible.

That's good to hear, that's good to hear.

OK, let's have a summary of that word.

OK, Neil, it's time to recap the vocabulary

we've discussed today.

OK. First of all we had 'delegation' -

A group of people chosen to represent an organisation.

We have 'fossil', in the expression 'fossil fuel',

meaning made from decade materials from thousands of years ago, and

'swamp' - overwhelm with large numbers.

OK, and don't forget you can test yourself on your understanding

of the vocabulary in a quiz on our website at bbclearningenglish.com.

And don't forget to check us out on social media as well.

Well, that's all for today on BBC News Review.

I'll see you again soon. Bye for now.

Bye.