Even before Covid hit, the global emissions rate of increase (between 2016-2019) slowed down
20% thanks to new policies, the collapse of the coal industry, the rise of renewables and climate
lobbying - than otherwise. Think about it. Emissions slowed down. They are reaching the 2C station
but they are slowing down. Despite Trump. Despite Russia. Despite China. Despite the oil and coal
lobbies. And now that Covid has hit the coal industry has been dealt a blow it will never recover
from. Oh there's still the gas industry? Sure. But we're slowing down. And that's the first step to
mitigation. The overton window on that front is shifting, slowly but surely.
The second step is peaking emissions, grinding the emissions increase to a halt. There is good
news there too. Demand for renewables is skyrocketing. Old fossil fuel factories and power plants
are getting phased out or shut down at an increasing rate, across the globe on average. As the cost
of renewables plummet, it's cost-efficiency eclipses coal, then eventually gas, and many, many
energy corps, companies and lobbies are beginning to pay attention and follow that clean new
golden goose. Greed drives them, sure, but the sort of greed that is much less destructive on our
global environment than otherwise. An improvement. Back to emission peaks. China is planning to
reach it's peak soon. It's rapidly building new, more efficient coal factories, sure. But their electricity
output is decreasing. And while it is not yet giving way to being eclipsed by renewable output, it is
planned to do so later this decade. Which means China may reach peak emissions before 2030.
And then, as the world's largest emitter, begin to decrease emissions entirely.
Yes there is worsening news regarding climate change all the time. It's to be expected. Increases in
emissions from earlier decades are what are being felt right now. Those mistakes we've made as a
global civilization have already been set in stone. All it does is make our goals harder, not stop
them in our tracks. What we have control over, as the overton window shifts, is how we handle,
adapt, mitigate, and survive the coming decades as best we can. There is still time for all of this.
Despite Trump's efforts the US' emissions have not skyrocketed since he took office, for example.
Heck, the expected worse case scenario from carbon emissions has gone down 2 degrees, from 5
C to a far less catastrophic 3 C, thanks to our global decrease in carbon demand and emissions
here and there. And slowing down the rise of carbon emissions is our top priority right now.
Despite all the pessimism, there is still, and always will be hope. And through hope and progress,
we must, we shall, prevail. Thank you for your time.