Welcome to Praxis for the Planet, a weekly newsletter dedicated to educating our readers on the root causes of the climate crisis and celebrating examples of climate justice movement victories from around the globe. We’ve redesigned our newsletter to be even more readable — we hope you like our new look!
Climate change is an international crisis. Greenhouse gas emissions have no nationalist sympathies and pollution knows no borders — often affecting most those who have contributed the least to global warming. Without the international cooperation and coordination of the world’s major emitters (China, the U.S., India, Russia, and Japan), real climate progress has little chance.
But if this week’s G20 Environment, Climate and Energy Ministers’ Meeting is any indication, international coordination is far from easy. Representatives from the G20 countries, which collectively account for 85 percent of global emissions, met in Naples to discuss climate goals but faced bitter disagreement.
First, not all countries agreed to completely phase out burning coal as an energy source. Though coal has been on a downward trend in many countries, it remains a dominant energy source in China and India. In fact, a recent International Energy Agency report projected coal to grow 3 percent in 2022 — exactly the wrong direction if we want to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius.
By many metrics, we’re not on track to stay below the 2 degrees Celsius ceiling. A UN assessment earlier this year found countries’ pledges to reduce emissions were “very far away” from the levels required to limit warning. Another recent study from the Paris Equity Check found that the energy policies of four G20 countries in particular — looking at you China, Russia, Brazil, and Australia — would put the world on track for 5 degrees Celsius of warming.
Disagreement at the G20 meeting does not bode well for the much-anticipated UN COP26 summit, to be held in Glasgow this November. As climate impacts rapidly intensify, the summit is widely regarded as one of the last chances for real international coordination around climate action.
We must continue to push for transformative climate policies at COP26 and beyond. Most of all, it’s important not to lose ambition. The G20 summit wasn’t entirely a failure: all countries agreed on the importance of accelerating decarbonization by 2030, and agreed to revisit discussions on coal in November.
The path toward a better future is not easy, and as an individual, it’s tempting to throw up your hands in exasperation. But social movements are not sustainable without hope, focus and the ambition to create a brighter future. A greener, more equitable, and more joy-filled future is within our reach, and we must remember that.
For now, enjoy this newly-redesigned issue of Praxis for the Planet, and be well.
Maliya Ellis
Editor-in-Chief
