The December 2015 Paris Agreement is the most encouraging international agreement on climate action.  In it the United States committed to emissions reductions of 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025. Countries will have to give an update on their progress every five years. Scientists are warning that the Paris Agreement does not go far enough. Still, President Obama said it has “the potential to unleash investment and innovation in clean energy at a scale we have never seen before.”[full statement]

Bill McKibben’s contributions have made the 2016 Democratic Platform the most powerful political platform on climate in US history. Now activists must ensure that climate action is a priority of the new administration.

Thanks to former Governor Deval Patrick, Massachusetts has the Global Warming Solutions Act, requiring “between 10 percent and 25 percent below statewide 1990 GHG emission levels by 2020” and “80 percent below statewide 1990 GHG emission levels by 2050.” But progress has been far too slow. In May 2016 the MA Supreme Court ruled that the State is not complying with the GWSA.

See what climate activists are up to.

Inaction is often defended with reference to China which has the fastest-growing emissions worldwide, but US citizens still emit 20 times as much per capita as the average Chinese. The US is also the major beneficiary of Chinese products, hence actually linking a good chunk of Chinese emissions to us.

Bill McKibben’s argument in favor of fossil fuel divestment (“Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math”, 2012)