three steps for success at the paris climate talks and beyond
Anouk van Asperen / Greenpeace
This article was written by Daniel Mittler and originally published by The Environmentalist, a place for breaking news and commentary by Greenpeace.
The last few weeks have seen the best and the worst in terms of climate change.
Victories that pundits told us for years were “impossible” have been coming at a breathtaking pace. Coal demand is interminal decline worldwide after a dramatic — if not complete — change of course in China. Oil is also in trouble, withShell and Statoil retreating from the Alaskan Arctic, President Obama rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline and Alberta, Canada putting a cap on tar sands oil. Meanwhile, cities and companies are signing up for a 100 percent renewable future. Many communities hit by extreme weather are rebuilding sustainably and hundreds of thousands worldwide are building people power to push forward with climate action now — and in the future.
At the same time, the news is getting worse. This year will be the hottest year in recorded history. And Indonesia’s forest fires were a massive blow for climate action, emitting more than the entire United States of America — a powerful reminder of just how fast hard-won emission reductions can be jeopardized by greed. Also, despite the climate movement’s recent victories, polluters are still dictating policy too often. The energy revolution, which is now inevitable, is not happening as fast as it needs to if we’re to keep our climate safe.