Governments
face
a
deadline
in
early
2025
to
update
their
national
climate
plans,
10
years
after
the
adoption
of
the
landmark
Paris
accord.
Before
that
can
happen,
Americans
will
face
a
crucial
decision
on
Election
Day
that
will
have
consequences
for
the
whole
world.
If
the
US
misses
that
deadline
under
a
president
who
thinks
this
is
no
big
deal,
it
could
be
a
serious
blow
to
global
efforts
to
stop
climate
change.
This
isn’t
about
the
US
being
the
world’s
savior.
It’s
about
cleaning
up
after
itself
considering
the
planetary
mess
it’s
made
and
continues
to
make.
What’s
at
stake?
Only
“debilitating
impacts
to
people,
planet
and
economies,”
the
latest
United
Nations
report
on
greenhouse
gas
emissions
released
today
tells
us.
We
are
a
fossil
fuel
behemoth,
a
wolf
in
sheep’s
clothing
The
US
—
like
nearly
every
other
country
on
Earth
except
for
Iran,
Libya,
and
Yemen
—
has
ratified
the
Paris
climate
agreement,
agreeing
to
work
together
to
stop
global
warming
from
getting
much
worse.
Action
the
US
takes
has
an
outsize
impact
on
the
world
because
the
US
has
pumped
out
far
more
greenhouse
gas
emissions
historically
than
any
other
country
and
remains
the
world’s
second-biggest
climate
polluter
today.
And
despite
the
historic
investments
the
nation
has
made
in
clean
energy
under
the
Biden
administration,
the
US
is
still
the
world’s
leading
oil
and
gas
producer.
We
are
a
fossil
fuel
behemoth,
a
wolf
in
sheep’s
clothing
even
when
we
agree
to
participate
in
international
climate
talks.
Global
average
temperatures
are
about
1.2
degrees
Celsius
higher
today
than
they
were
before
the
Industrial
Revolution.
It
might
not
sound
like
much,
but
wildfires,
heatwaves,
droughts,
and
storms
have
all
grown
much
worse
as
a
result.
Preventing
more
severe
climate
change
isn’t
altruism
—
it’s
in
our
own
self-interest.
Hurricane
Helene,
which
killed
more
than
220
people
and
reduced
entire
communities
to
ruins
as
it
tore
through
the
Southeast
US
this
month,
was
fueled
by
soaring
sea
surface
temperatures
made
200
to
500
times
more
likely
by
greenhouse
gas
emissions
from
fossil
fuels.
The
Paris
accord
sets
a
goal
of
stopping
global
warming
at
around
1.5C,
and
the
UN
report
published
today
shows
what
it’s
going
to
take
to
keep
from
blowing
past
that.
It’s
hard
to
read
it
without
wincing.
It’s
actually
titled,
“No
more
hot
air
...
please!”
“If
only
current
[national
action
plans]
are
implemented
and
no
further
ambition
is
shown
in
the
new
pledges,
the
best
we
could
expect
to
achieve
is
catastrophic
global
warming,”
the
United
Nations
Environment
Programme
says.
Specifically,
it
expects
up
to
2.6C
of
warming
over
the
course
of
a
century
with
business
as
usual.
“No
more
hot
air
...
please!”
Even
so,
the
report
says
it’s
still
technically
feasible
to
keep
that
1.5-degree
goal
alive
if
countries
take
swift
action.
Global
emissions
would
have
to
fall
42
percent
by
2030
compared
to
2019
levels.
That’s
no
easy
task
considering
the
world
is
still
moving
in
the
opposite
direction,
with
greenhouse
gas
emissions
growing
1.3
percent
year
on
year,
according
to
the
report.
Yet
there
are
relatively
simple
ways
to
turn
things
around
—
solar
and
onshore
wind
energy
are
already
cheaper
power
sources
than
fossil
fuels
in
most
of
the
world.
The
report
also
calls
for
increasing
energy
efficiency
and
electrifying
homes
and
buildings.
The
tougher
question
is
whether
policymakers
and
voters
are
on
board
with
these
solutions.
The
Republican
platform
says,
“We
will
DRILL,
BABY,
DRILL.”
Donald
Trump
says
he
would
attempt
to
take
the
US
out
of
the
Paris
agreement
again,
which
he
did
during
his
previous
presidency,
before
Joe
Biden
recommitted.
The
last
time
Trump
was
elected
president,
I
was
at
a
UN
climate
conference
in
Marrakech,
Morocco.
“Today,
many
Africans
have
woken
up
horrified
that
we
have
a
man
in
the
White
House
who
does
not
even
accept
that
climate
change
is
real
–
a
president
who
has
promised
to
back
more
fossil
fuels
and
has
promised
to
pull
out
of
the
Paris
Agreement,”
said
Geoffrey
Kamese,
then
a
senior
program
officer
of
Friends
of
the
Earth
Africa,
at
a
press
briefing
during
the
summit.
“The
people
in
this
continent
will
pay
with
their
lives
for
the
results
of
the
US
elections.”
Members
of
the
G20
encompassing
many
of
the
world’s
largest
economies,
minus
the
African
Union,
pumped
out
77
percent
of
greenhouse
gas
emissions
in
2023,
the
new
UN
report
says.
Adding
the
African
Union
doubles
the
number
of
countries
but
only
increases
the
share
of
emissions
to
82
percent.
That
only
goes
to
show
that
many
of
the
nations
most
vulnerable
to
climate
change
are
paying
the
price
for
a
problem
the
world’s
wealthiest
countries
are
largely
responsible
for
perpetuating.
(Originally posted by Justine Calma)
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