One other quick comment. I'm American. Don't underestimate the power of the deniers. Trumps had a 42% approval rating as president, and he won 47% of the vote. QAnon members believe Hillary Clinton ran a human trafficking ring from the basement of a DC pizzeria, so climate denial is easy for them. And the deniers can block the U.S. from both taking action on its own (meeting its insufficient commitments) and in providing the developing world the money and technology it needs to build clean energy (meet its insufficient commitments). And without the U.S. leading and playing its part, effective decarbonization will be virtually impossible.
Thanks for the excellent article. It's nice having thoughtful commentary to help ground the strange way the media covers climate change -- dancing around the fringes, afraid to tell the truth for fear of losing clicks and revenue.
I have one comment. I believe it is time for climate change analysts and expertise (such as yourself!) to more finely parse what we mean by a "climate disaster". The fall of modern civilization, including the end of global, energy-base food production and distribution is a very strong possibility and it would be a true disaster which would cost the lives of billions of humans. Extinction of the species is a real long-shot (we're like cockroaches). Talking about the risk to civilization, governance and food supply should be mainstream at this point, but it still gets conflated with extreme scenarios.
Ask around, and you'll find a lot of experts who believe that our current way of life won't make it to the end of this century.
One other quick comment. I'm American. Don't underestimate the power of the deniers. Trumps had a 42% approval rating as president, and he won 47% of the vote. QAnon members believe Hillary Clinton ran a human trafficking ring from the basement of a DC pizzeria, so climate denial is easy for them. And the deniers can block the U.S. from both taking action on its own (meeting its insufficient commitments) and in providing the developing world the money and technology it needs to build clean energy (meet its insufficient commitments). And without the U.S. leading and playing its part, effective decarbonization will be virtually impossible.
BIll,
Thanks for the excellent article. It's nice having thoughtful commentary to help ground the strange way the media covers climate change -- dancing around the fringes, afraid to tell the truth for fear of losing clicks and revenue.
I have one comment. I believe it is time for climate change analysts and expertise (such as yourself!) to more finely parse what we mean by a "climate disaster". The fall of modern civilization, including the end of global, energy-base food production and distribution is a very strong possibility and it would be a true disaster which would cost the lives of billions of humans. Extinction of the species is a real long-shot (we're like cockroaches). Talking about the risk to civilization, governance and food supply should be mainstream at this point, but it still gets conflated with extreme scenarios.
Ask around, and you'll find a lot of experts who believe that our current way of life won't make it to the end of this century.
Thanks!