Time to put climate before cost
The world over, the pace of change is typically and ultimately dictated by one thing – how much can the economy handle? The economic case for renewables has only ever become stronger and is today compelling.
The impact of the unknown
But the pace of transition has been determined by the speed at which the economy was deemed to best manage that transition, rather than by the pace needed to avoid catastrophic climate change. And this is where, and largely why, targets and policy so often fall far too short.
If all governments meet their Paris Agreement target, we calculate the world would still see 3°C of warming, but that warming is likely to be even higher given most are not taking enough action to meet their targets. We still have a long way to go.
Bill Hare
CEO of Climate Analytics, a Climate Action Tracker (CAT) constituent organisation, 2019