Getting serious about the climate

What does it mean to get serious about climate change? A new report (“Net Zero by 2050”) has made the answer crystal clear, and the call-to-arms is both compelling and urgent.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released in May a blockbuster report on what has to happen if we are to stave off the worst effects of climate change. The IEA, as the New York Times noted, “is not an environmental group but an international organization that advises world capitals on energy policy.”

Up to now, the IEA was considered to be an ally of the fossil-fuel industry, but the climate emergency has forced the agency to rethink its allegiance.

The new report includes no vague or general hand-waving about the seriousness of the problem. It gets very specific about what needs to be done, by when, and by whom, to protect society from the world-changing dangers and disruptions that have already begun to wreak havoc all over the planet. Droughts, floods, ravaging fires, intensified storms, regional instability and huge economic dislocations are just some of the rapidly increasing impacts.

To say that the IEA’s recommendations are bold and far-reaching is an understatement.

As the Times reported, “The agency concluded that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius remains technically and economically feasible, but there is little margin for error or delay.”

In other words, we have to start now, and get up to speed right out of the gate. There is no time to gradually ramp up, or far worse, to put things off for a few more years.

The recommendations include: no new investments in coal, gas and oil supply projects; massive investment in renewable energy; a phaseout of internal combustion vehicles; energy retrofitting of buildings; increases in sustainable bio-energy; and development of better carbon-capture technologies.

And as President Biden and his team have made clear, these programs are not about sacrifice. At the same time that they avert the looming disasters, they promise to create more jobs and a stronger economy.

All of these recommendations require that all the world’s governments step up immediately. The U.S. must of course be a leader, and that will happen only to the extent that we the people — the voters — insist that Congress acts boldly and acts quickly.

Although it’s the government that needs to act, it’s all of us that need to push it to act. And this should not be a partisan issue at all; all of us are faced with these real and present climate dangers.

Getting serious about the climate means underscoring that seriousness with our friends and families (by talking about it), letting our representatives know that this is a critical priority, and electing new representatives who recognize the climate dangers our traditional energy economy is fostering. Only then will the government mount the transformational efforts that are so clearly needed.

As the IEA report makes blisteringly clear, the time is now.

Thom Krystofiak

Fairfield