The deniers have largely shut up. Instead, many have become delayers – querying not the science, but the pace and urgency of the changes that science demands. Of course, that means that they aren’t really convinced – you can’t counsel delay once you grasp the frightening reality that human beings are on course to change our climate to such an extent that life, as it has been lived at any time in the past, must change fundamentally. To delay is therefore to deny. Getting to global net zero is not an aspiration but a necessity.
The government of Theresa May asked the key questions. What do we have to do to meet our Paris commitments? Can we do it? And how much will it cost? We can do it – conservatively, net zero by 2050 will cost us less than 1 per cent of our GDP; at current, high fossil fuel prices it would save the economy 0.5 per cent of GDP or more. Boris Johnson’s government made that the base of its chairmanship of Cop26 and it is now the commitment of the core group of major economies, with China and India bringing up the rear with the later dates of 2060 and 2070, respectively. The world’s direction of travel is therefore clear, but its speed is woefully slow and the gap between promise and performance challengingly wide. Only by unwavering concentration on delivery can we reach our goal – that necessary goal of net zero.
Content from our partners
