Serious people are needed in these troubled times but must do a better job on the problem of our changing climateClimate change is a slow-moving disaster and one that no truly serious person can continue to ignore. Photograph: Getty Images
Stern had no qualms about naming the biggest obstacles to climate progress. “The main one is the fossil fuel industry,” he said, explaining that the “huge clout” of state-owned and private companies could influence political leaders.Business Today: New insurer enters Irish market with motor and home insurance productsBut then he named another, less obvious culprit: “We are also slowed down by those who think of themselves as grown-ups.
The prospect of a second Donald Trump term at a time of deepening geopolitical turbulence makes the orthodox views of respected centrists look more valuable than ever “They’re the avatars of the establishment,” a US climate policy veteran told me the other week. He was describing the voices of centrist reason he heard from Wall Street to Whitehall who said calls for net zero emissions by 2050 were financially impractical, politically impossible and naive.This is a seductive argument. It is true that the bulk of emissions come from fossil fuels — the oil, gas and coal that still comprise about 80 per cent of the global energy mix.
Scientists have shown for years that it would be wise to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees, as outlined in the Paris Agreement. But this would require a breathtaking rate of decarbonisation: emissions would have to nearly halve by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. So far, global emissions are not falling, let alone halving, and 2030 is just six years away.