SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Introducing the Climate Test
Feb 23, 2016
Today, with a number of our partner organizations in the US and Canada, we're unveiling the Climate Test. This proposal is being delivered jointly to President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau, calling on them to align their governments' energy policy and decision-making with the demands climate science has laid out for us and the international climate agreements our leaders have forged.
This test is not new; President Obama has already implemented it in consideration of the Keystone XL pipeline. When he made his major climate speech at Georgetown University in June of 2013, he said:
"Our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution. (Applause.) The net effects of the pipeline's impact on our climate will be absolutely critical to determining whether this project is allowed to go forward. It's relevant."
Canada's new Prime Minister Trudeau has also promised a climate test when reviewing major infrastructure projects like pipelines, a commitment reiterated just weeks ago.
We support this kind of leadership on both sides of the border - as long as it is ambitious and robust enough to match our promises and the climate's needs. We must consider the climate when making energy policy decisions. That's why we've worked with our partners to elaborate this idea further and are excited to be putting it out into the world today.
The climate test we are unveiling today calls on our governments to use the latest climate science to evaluate all proposed energy supply and demand policies and projects in light of the globally agreed goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C, informed by the spirit of global cooperation that made Paris successful.
In other words, we must reorientate how we currently assess proposed fossil fuel projects. We're calling on our leaders to base our fossil fuel project decision-making on an assumption of success in meeting our climate objectives, rather than an assumption of failure.
Right now, our energy policy is based on an outdated model that suggests business as usual for years to come and thus continued burning of fossil fuels at levels that would mean climate catastrophe. Commonly used energy projections such as the EIA's Reference Case, the IEA's Current or New Policies Scenario, or energy outlooks produced annually by oil companies such as Exxon or BP, would see fossil fuel use leading to between 4 and 6 degrees Celsius of warming. Make no mistake, a world with 4 to 6 degrees Celsius of warming would be one we would barely recognize, let alone inhabit safely.
Yet, just a few months ago in Paris, world leaders adopted the important aim of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This was an important achievement and marks a pivotal moment in the fight to save the climate. But if we are actually going to meet that goal, it's far past time we started acting like it.
The Climate Test demands that President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau show the leadership required to make the lofty goals of the Paris Agreement a reality.
The science behind limiting warming to 2C is clear. The vast majority of proven fossil fuel reserves must be kept in the ground, and we must decarbonize our economies no later than 2050. For 1.5C, we must go even further, faster.
We must assume success in achieving our climate safety objectives, and work from that assumption when assessing proposed fossil fuel projects. We must apply the climate test.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Oil Change International
David Turnbull
David Turnbull is campaigns director for Oil Change International. Follw him on Twitter: @david_turnbull
climate emergencyclimate sciencefossil fuelsglobal warmingjustin trudeaukeystone xlkeystone xl pipelineobama administrationoil change internationalparis agreement
Today, with a number of our partner organizations in the US and Canada, we're unveiling the Climate Test. This proposal is being delivered jointly to President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau, calling on them to align their governments' energy policy and decision-making with the demands climate science has laid out for us and the international climate agreements our leaders have forged.
This test is not new; President Obama has already implemented it in consideration of the Keystone XL pipeline. When he made his major climate speech at Georgetown University in June of 2013, he said:
"Our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution. (Applause.) The net effects of the pipeline's impact on our climate will be absolutely critical to determining whether this project is allowed to go forward. It's relevant."
Canada's new Prime Minister Trudeau has also promised a climate test when reviewing major infrastructure projects like pipelines, a commitment reiterated just weeks ago.
We support this kind of leadership on both sides of the border - as long as it is ambitious and robust enough to match our promises and the climate's needs. We must consider the climate when making energy policy decisions. That's why we've worked with our partners to elaborate this idea further and are excited to be putting it out into the world today.
The climate test we are unveiling today calls on our governments to use the latest climate science to evaluate all proposed energy supply and demand policies and projects in light of the globally agreed goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C, informed by the spirit of global cooperation that made Paris successful.
In other words, we must reorientate how we currently assess proposed fossil fuel projects. We're calling on our leaders to base our fossil fuel project decision-making on an assumption of success in meeting our climate objectives, rather than an assumption of failure.
Right now, our energy policy is based on an outdated model that suggests business as usual for years to come and thus continued burning of fossil fuels at levels that would mean climate catastrophe. Commonly used energy projections such as the EIA's Reference Case, the IEA's Current or New Policies Scenario, or energy outlooks produced annually by oil companies such as Exxon or BP, would see fossil fuel use leading to between 4 and 6 degrees Celsius of warming. Make no mistake, a world with 4 to 6 degrees Celsius of warming would be one we would barely recognize, let alone inhabit safely.
Yet, just a few months ago in Paris, world leaders adopted the important aim of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This was an important achievement and marks a pivotal moment in the fight to save the climate. But if we are actually going to meet that goal, it's far past time we started acting like it.
The Climate Test demands that President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau show the leadership required to make the lofty goals of the Paris Agreement a reality.
The science behind limiting warming to 2C is clear. The vast majority of proven fossil fuel reserves must be kept in the ground, and we must decarbonize our economies no later than 2050. For 1.5C, we must go even further, faster.
We must assume success in achieving our climate safety objectives, and work from that assumption when assessing proposed fossil fuel projects. We must apply the climate test.
David Turnbull
David Turnbull is campaigns director for Oil Change International. Follw him on Twitter: @david_turnbull
Today, with a number of our partner organizations in the US and Canada, we're unveiling the Climate Test. This proposal is being delivered jointly to President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau, calling on them to align their governments' energy policy and decision-making with the demands climate science has laid out for us and the international climate agreements our leaders have forged.
This test is not new; President Obama has already implemented it in consideration of the Keystone XL pipeline. When he made his major climate speech at Georgetown University in June of 2013, he said:
"Our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution. (Applause.) The net effects of the pipeline's impact on our climate will be absolutely critical to determining whether this project is allowed to go forward. It's relevant."
Canada's new Prime Minister Trudeau has also promised a climate test when reviewing major infrastructure projects like pipelines, a commitment reiterated just weeks ago.
We support this kind of leadership on both sides of the border - as long as it is ambitious and robust enough to match our promises and the climate's needs. We must consider the climate when making energy policy decisions. That's why we've worked with our partners to elaborate this idea further and are excited to be putting it out into the world today.
The climate test we are unveiling today calls on our governments to use the latest climate science to evaluate all proposed energy supply and demand policies and projects in light of the globally agreed goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C, informed by the spirit of global cooperation that made Paris successful.
In other words, we must reorientate how we currently assess proposed fossil fuel projects. We're calling on our leaders to base our fossil fuel project decision-making on an assumption of success in meeting our climate objectives, rather than an assumption of failure.
Right now, our energy policy is based on an outdated model that suggests business as usual for years to come and thus continued burning of fossil fuels at levels that would mean climate catastrophe. Commonly used energy projections such as the EIA's Reference Case, the IEA's Current or New Policies Scenario, or energy outlooks produced annually by oil companies such as Exxon or BP, would see fossil fuel use leading to between 4 and 6 degrees Celsius of warming. Make no mistake, a world with 4 to 6 degrees Celsius of warming would be one we would barely recognize, let alone inhabit safely.
Yet, just a few months ago in Paris, world leaders adopted the important aim of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This was an important achievement and marks a pivotal moment in the fight to save the climate. But if we are actually going to meet that goal, it's far past time we started acting like it.
The Climate Test demands that President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau show the leadership required to make the lofty goals of the Paris Agreement a reality.
The science behind limiting warming to 2C is clear. The vast majority of proven fossil fuel reserves must be kept in the ground, and we must decarbonize our economies no later than 2050. For 1.5C, we must go even further, faster.
We must assume success in achieving our climate safety objectives, and work from that assumption when assessing proposed fossil fuel projects. We must apply the climate test.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.