Climate disruption looms as the most important challenge of the twenty-first century, onewe must work urgently to counter. International negotiations now underway should result in a binding agreement to this end, ready for adoption at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in December 2015.
Finding out just how we will tangibly combat climate change remains an equally important priority.One thing appears certain: the economic trajectoriesof industrialized nations arenotviable, and developing and emerging nations should not beexpected to “catch up” by mimicking those economies.
We cannot escape this impasse unless we begin to systemically transform our economies and our societies. We need to invent new development models – less polluting, more resilient, and more sustainably able to meet the economic and social aspirations of people across the globe.