To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.

×
      LATEST NEWSOPINIONCLIMATEECONOMY POLITICS RIGHTS & JUSTICEWAR & PEACE
      LATEST NEWS
      OPINION

      cop20

      The Paris Agreement: 1.5C to Stay Alive

      The Paris Agreement: 1.5C to Stay Alive

      Bianca Jagger
      Dec 19, 2015

      On 12th December at 7:16 p.m. Laurent Fabius, French Minister for Foreign Affairs and President of COP21, announced to a room packed with ministers, negotiators, NGOs and prominent guests "I see the room and I see that the reaction is positive. I don't hear any objection. The Paris Agreement for the Climate is adopted." His voice quivered with emotion as he banged his gavel on his sounding block, marking the end of a tense and often strained two weeks of climate negotiations. COP21 was over after 21 years of failed negotiations, broken promises, distant targets and shattered hope, world leaders finally agreed on a global, legally binding agreement, a framework upon which we can begin to tackle catastrophic climate change. Paris was always going to be the end of the line.

      As Fabius brought down his gavel to seal the deal, the room erupted into rapturous applause; some people hugged, other people cried. There was an outpouring of emotions and joy. Even those representatives of countries not completely happy with the text realised the magnitude of the moment and the importance of this unprecedented agreement. I was deeply moved.

      Keep ReadingShow Less
      Opinion
      Paris: The End of the Beginning

      Paris: The End of the Beginning

      Will Paris be a success or a failure? It will be both. The real question is whether it opens the way to a new future of justice and ambition

      Tom Athanasiou
      Nov 16, 2015

      As I write this, the United Nations climate conference is only weeks away. And now, of course, it will take place in an atmosphere of mourning, and crisis, and war. Beyond this change of tone, what difference will the 11/13 attacks make on the outcome of the negotiations? It is impossible to say, though it's not too much to hope for heightened clarity, and seriousness, and resolve. This is a time to attend to the future. On this, at least, we should be able to agree.

      The essay below was finished before the attacks. I've changed only these opening words, which already said that the stakes were high. That has not changed. Nor has my overall claim, that while the negotiations are not going well, they're not going badly either, and that in any case they must be judged in realist terms.

      Keep ReadingShow Less
      Opinion
      'If We Can Do It, So Can You': Marshall Islands Makes Inspiring Climate Pledge

      'If We Can Do It, So Can You': Marshall Islands Makes Inspiring Climate Pledge

      Pacific island nation on the frontlines of climate crisis announces goal to be emission-free by 2050

      Lauren Mccauley
      Jul 19, 2015

      Faced with the disastrous impacts of the growing climate crisis, the Marshall Islands, a remote Pacific island nation, has taken a decisive step towards the preservation of the planet, as well as its own land and people.

      On Sunday, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) President Christopher Loeak announced his country would be the first small island nation to submit to the United Nations a clear climate target for 2025 ahead of the upcoming Paris climate summit.

      Keep ReadingShow Less
      News
      SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
      Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.
      Follow Us
      Most Popular

      'Shocking and Immoral': Report Details Private Equity's Stranglehold on US Healthcare

      Warren Demands Probe Into Bank Failures, Urges Biden to Fire Powell

      East Palestine Soil Contains Dioxin Levels Hundreds of Times Over Cancer Risk Threshold

      Reckless Capitalist Banks Rescued by Government Socialism – Again!

      It's Clear the GOP Is a Party of Death, Not Life

      'Never Seen Anything Like This': US Librarians Report Book Bans Hit Record High in 2022

      Beware This Libertarian Oligarch's Ecological Utopia in Texas

      Bailing Out the Undeserving Rich—Again

      'Beautiful': Minnesota Becomes 4th State to Provide Free School Meals to All Kids

      Fears of Monarch Butterfly Extinction as Numbers Plummet 22% in Annual Count

      SUPPORT OUR WORK.
      We are independent, non-profit, advertising-free and 100%
      reader supported.