Essay by Eric Worrall
As the UN climate team grapples with They lack talented candidates for top jobs, Christiana Figueres may have sensed her moment had come, and suddenly reappeared in the media.
For 50 years, governments have failed to act on climate change. No more excuses
Christiana Figueres, Yvo de Boer and Michael Zammit Cutajar
Monday, June 2, 2022 18.00 AESTConflict and Covid make up these difficult times, but national leaders must cooperate and act now
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You might think that political leaders cannot have a higher priority than ensuring a “livable and sustainable future”. Isn’t that what we all, in every country, need and want for ourselves and for future generations? It is true that other problems are causing serious concern in many societies: governments around the world are addressing poverty, war and civil strife, rising food and energy costs. high, the health system and the economy were crippled by Covid-19.
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If science doesn’t convince most governments to act, perhaps economics will. IPCC provides clear evidence that societies will be more prosperous in a climate-limited world than in a burned-out world. In the energy sector, evidence of a zero-carbon transition is all around us. Wind and solar energy shows compound growth of about 20% a year and cheaper almost everywhere than alternatives. Electric vehicle sales will double between 2020 and 2021.
Unless investing in fossil fuels, there’s no reason not to go the clean energy route. Many members of the company well understood the need for early action on this front. But governments still need to encourage the transition. Evolution Just the Energy Transformation pack could still offer an investment roadmap that could accelerate deployment in emerging and developing countries. Corporate action towards other goals, such as reducing methane emissions, should also be encouraged.
If economics gives us hope of speeding up action despite the host of other problems that threaten our times, so does history. Fifty years ago, the international community faced similar problems: depletion of natural resources, desertification, remnants of the atomic bomb test, mercury pollution, wartime proxy conflicts cold. Geopolitics divide the world. However, in 1972 Conference on human environment In Stockholm, the leaders agreed to work together to address common threats.
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I think the title of Christiana Figueres, “For 50 years”tells us all we need to know about the climate crisis.
In 50 years, not much has happened to the climate. Food production and life expectancy have increased, yet the world has squandered insane amounts of money chasing climate ghosts, while the real problems go unnoticed.
I still hope Christiana Figueres get a second crack at the top job. Can you imagine how bleak all would be if you said that Canada is Catherine McKenna have job? When you look at list of candidatesyou will understand why my vote goes to Christiana.
I know, Christiana gave us the Paris Agreement. But at least her wild directionless enthusiasm is interesting. I doubted last time she annoys the UN apparatus her colleagues even annoy us. And Christiana’s repeated attacks against Capitalism have made it clear to me what in my view is the real agenda of the climate crisis movement.
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