Climate politics at a dead end – How to build a new road
- by Patrick Mazza
Climate politics is dead-ended.
It may seem strange to make such a statement in the wake of the much-heralded U.S.-China climate deal announced November 12. So let me clarify.
President Obama did announce the intent to reduce U.S. carbon emissions 26-28% by 2025, while China said it would peak carbon emissions and generate at least 20% of its energy from non-fossil sources by 2030.
All well and good, but far from the 6% annual emissions cuts required to hold overall global warming under 2° Celsius, the minimal borderline between climate disruption that is merely severe and that which is utterly catastrophic (though many scientists believe the cutoff is more like 1.5°C). In other words, the U.S.-China agreement represents only a slower road to climate hell.
Okay, but it’s a start, right?
“The agreement with China is a good first step. But we hope it is but a first step because it is not enough to prevent significant climate change,” noted Kevin Trenberth, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Unfortunately, it may be the last step possible in the current political environment. Republican election victories in the U.S. Senate and states around the country have put legislative progress on global warming into a deep freeze.
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Image: Greenpeace
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