Posted on 19 December 2020 by John Hartz

Editor's Choice

Are we really ready to tackle the climate crisis? Yes, here’s 6 reasons why

The Paris agreement called for global action to curb rising CO2 emissions.

• Individuals, organizations and governments are making real progress in battling the climate crisis.
• Pledging to reduce carbon emissions and investing in renewable energy are some of the key strides being taken.
• It's vital that momentum is continually building, to reduce the negative effects of climate change.

Since the adoption of the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015, global momentum to tackle the climate crisis has been building. Progress has been made on almost every front, from bold corporate emissions-reduction targets and investors shifting away from coal to a surge of support for net-zero targets and a rising movement of youth activists from Uganda to India, culminating in Greta Thunberg being recognized as Time Magazine’s 2019 “Person of the Year.” 

While the coronavirus pandemic led to a historic drop in global emissions this year, this drop will be a blip in the ongoing trend of ever-climbing GHG emissions unless backed up by changes in policy and business practices. Last year was the second-hottest on record globally, and 2020 is on track to be the warmest year ever.

From wildfires in Australia and the western United States to this year’s record-breaking hurricane season, communities around the world continue to face devastating extreme weather events, many exacerbated by the climate crisis. A lot of work lies ahead of us.

The coronavirus pandemic, while first and foremost a health, employment and economic crisis, will also impact efforts to advance climate action. On the one hand, most leaders are not focused on climate action these days, and the COP26 climate summit originally scheduled for November 2020 in Glasgow was postponed until next year. On the other hand, this health crisis shows that countries can respond rapidly to a global emergency.

Here are six ways the world has shown it’s ready for more ambitious climate action since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015:

Click here to access the entire article as originally posted on the World Economic Forum's website.

Are we really ready to tackle the climate crisis? Yes, here’s 6 reasons why by Molly Bergern & Helen Mountford, World Economic Forum, Dec 18, 2020

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Sun, Dec 13, 2020

• U.K. to Halt Subsidies for Fossil Fuel Projects Abroad by Stephen Castle, Europe, New York Times, Dec 11, 2020
• Beyond good intentions, to urgent action: Former UNFCCC leaders take stock of thirty years of international climate change negotiations by Richard Kinley, Michael Zammit Cutajar, Yvo de Boer & Christiana Figueres, Climate Policy, Dec 10, 2020
• The Paris climate pact is 5 years old. 5 youth activists share their hopes for what’s next. by Jariel Arvin, Vox, Dec 11, 2020
• Minister tells more than 80 world leaders that not enough is being done by Fiona Harvey, Environment, The Observer/Guardian, Dec 12, 2020

Mon, Dec 14, 2020

• We ignored pandemic warnings and now look. Let’s not do the same for climate change. by Peter Dykstra, Environmental Health News, Dec 13, 2020
• Where's the beef with a greener future that also makes us happier and healthier?, Business Leader, The Guardian, Dec 13, 2020
• Biden considers former EPA chief McCarthy for domestic climate czar -sources by Jarrett Renshaw & Valerie Volcovici, Reuters, Dec 13, 2020
• Trains, Walking, Biking: Why Germany Needs to Look Beyond Cars by Dan Gearino, Clean Energy, InsideClimate News, Dec 13, 2020

Tue, Dec 15, 2020

• It’s official: Alberta’s oilsands tailings ponds are leaking. Now what? by Sharon J Riley, Explainer, The Narwhal, Dec 14, 2020
• EU leaders agree to deeper cuts to greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 by Jariel Arvin, Vox, Dec 11, 2020
• Mass Transit Is in Jeopardy—and So Are Cities by Aarian Marshall, Wired Magazine, Dec 14, 2020
• 2020 Will Rival 2016 for Hottest Year on Record by Andrea Thompson, Climate, Scientific American, Dec 15, 2020

Wed, Dec 16, 2020

• “Our culture is not up for sale”: The stakes of Trump’s push to drill in the Arctic refuge by Rachel Ramirez. Vox, Dec 10, 2020
• A 50-Year-Old Global Warming Forecast That Still Holds Up by Andrei Lapenis, Eos Magazine (Science News by AGU), Nov 25, 2020
• Mountain Water Supply to Two Billion People Could Change by Walter Immerzeel, Scientific American, Jan 1, 2021 Print Edition
• Biden to name Granholm as energy secretary by Will Englund, Juliet Eilperin and Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, Dec. 15, 2020

Thu, Dec 17, 2020

• Earth may be even closer to 1.5°C of global warming than we thought by Adam Vaughn, New Scientist Magazine, Dec 15, 2020
• Using Food to Tell the Climate Change Story by Rachel Crowell, Eos Magazine  (Science News by AGU), Dec 10, 2020
• In Boost for Renewables, Grid-Scale Battery Storage Is on the Rise by Cheryl Katz, Yale Environment 360, Dec 15, 2020
• How climate change is affecting winter storms. by John Schwartz, Climate & Environment, New York Times, Dec 17, 2020

Fri, Dec 18, 2020

• 'A Perfect Choice': Progressives Applaud Biden Pick of Deb Haaland for Interior Secretary by Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams, Dec 17, 2020
• New climate models suggest faster melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet by Ayesha Tandon, Carbon Brief, Dec 15, 2020
• The Six Pests Coming to Eat Your Crops by Agnieszka de Sousa & Michael Hirtzer, Bloomberg Green, Dec 16, 2020
• Boiling Point: Obama wouldn’t keep fossil fuels in the ground. But Biden says he will by Sammy Roth, Climate & Environment, Los Angeles Times, Dec 17, 2020

Sat, Dec 19, 2020

• Are we really ready to tackle the climate crisis? Yes, here’s 6 reasons why by Molly Bergern & Helen Mountford, World Economic Forum, Dec 18, 2020
• 2020's Worst Environmental Disasters, and How Climate Change Played a Role by Ron Brackett, The Weather Channel, Nov 30, 2020
• Unlike Trump, Biden believes in climate change — and his nominees prove it, Opinion by Harry Reid, CNN, Dec 18, 2020
• Earth plays it cool, but global warming is unrelenting by Grahame Madge, Met Office (UK), Dec 18, 2020