Go much bigger on climate change
In early November, the world’s governments will gather in Glasgow for COP26, the five-year update, to the Paris climate accords.
Many are calling it the “last chance COP.” The IPCC and the United Nations have been issuing increasingly dire warnings that the world is barreling to climate collapse. The pledges made by governments since Paris fall far short of keeping global warming below the target level of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Climate change is already happening and getting worse, as extreme weather events become more frequent with massive hurricanes, flooding, drought, wildfires and heat waves. It is estimated that at the present rate of emissions, the world will exceed its remaining “carbon budget” within seven years.
The United States has been among the principal drivers of climate change and a leading barrier to essential climate action. The per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. are among the world’s largest. The Obama-biden administration led the fight in coalition with the other industrial polluting nations in Paris to oppose mandatory emissions cuts while arguing to keep the target warming cap at 2 degrees; the Trump administration then pulled the U.S. out of the climate accords.
While it is too late to prevent some level of climate change, the world still can mitigate its worse efforts.
The biggest challenge remains political, not technological. The world’s business and political leaders continue to put profits from fossil fuels ahead of the common good. Rapid advances are being made in increasing the efficiency and lowering the costs of renewable energy. More advances however are needed, including in industrial processes such as cement.
Energy conservation and efficiency remain the most cost-effective climate strategies.
The upfront costs for a rapid transition to a clean energy future — closer to a timeline of 2030 rather than 2050 — are massive. It will pay for itself many times over with increased job creation, lower energy costs, and improved health outcomes while reducing the enormous costs we are already experienced from climate change. In New York alone, it is estimated that air pollution, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, kills 3,000 people annually and results in $30 billion in increased health care costs. It is estimated that 5 million to 10 million die annually worldwide from air pollution.
The credibility of the U.S. government on climate is at a historical low. President Joe Biden had hoped to show up in Glasgow with a large green economic stimulus with a major climate component. But his proposal shrinks in face of opposition by two Senate Democrats. Biden has refused to take strong executive actions as outlined in Climatepresident.org, steps he is legally able to do without congressional approval.
Key issues in Glasgow will be what deeper levels in emission cuts will countries pledge (need to be mandatory rather than voluntary) and how much aid (reparations) will the industrial polluting nations provide to assist the Global South and other developing nations — the principal victims of the first world’s industrial excesses — in responding to climate change.
The Bible — sacred scripture of Christians, Jews and Muslims — embraces the call for Jubilee, that every 50 years debts must be forgiven. Jubilee is based less on the concept of justice and charity and more on the recognition by the ancient world that the economy must be regularly rebooted to keep it functioning, to the benefit of the rich and the poor. Never has Jubilee been more needed.
Pope Francis and the IPCC recognize that the capitalist system with its focus on the maximization of profit has failed to benefit the majority of the world’s inhabitants. Politicians tinkering with “the market” to encourage hedge funds to invest in renewable energy will lead to climate collapse. Solving climate change requires us to solve the related problems of income inequality and racial and social injustice. We need system change, focusing on ensuring that the needs of everyone — not just the wealthy — are protected.
With time running out, many in New York are calling for public ownership of the energy system. At a minimum, we need comprehensive democratic planning to ensure that the build out of a renewable energy future will maximize its impacts and benefits. The U.S. — and the world — need to respond to the climate emergency similar to how we responded after Pearl Harbor. The government took control of much of the manufacturing system to build what was needed to save the country.
We have already wasted far too much time. Band-aids will not cure the illness.
The upfront costs for a rapid transition to a clean energy future — closer to a timeline of 2030 rather than 2050 — are massive. It will pay for itself many times over with increased job creation, lower energy costs, and improved health outcomes while reducing the enormous costs we are already experienced from climate change.