Are you allowed to send a Happy New Year message on the 10th of January? 2020 seems to be just as busy as 2019 if not worse, so I'm finding myself doing so, as I wanted to put down a few thoughts about where we're at... 1/n
Last year was transformative to the climate conversation, and this year marks the run up to another moment where the global struggle to bring our impact on our atmosphere under control should take another major step forward, so I should feel full of hope. 2/n
But when the climate crisis is becoming so much more visible, hope feels distant and imperilled. What's happening in Australia is terrifying. 3/n bbc.co.uk/news/world-aus…
And the coverage of Austalia gives us some insight into climate disasters happening in places which receive far less media attention. 4/n theguardian.com/world/2020/jan…
So why do I think 2019 was transformative? And what are my hopes and worries about the year ahead? 5/n
Last year felt like a significant step forward in taking the climate crisis seriously. This was a step forward for governments, and businesses - but also for people, and even for fairly seasoned environmentalists. 6/n
We can't tackle a problem if we don't look at the true scale of it, but looking at the scale of what climate change means is... uncomfortable. Anxiety-inducing. IMO @James_BG has rather perfectly captured it with his piece 7/n businessgreen.com/bg/blog-post/3…
Bravely, clearly and inspiringly @GretaThunberg has given millions a voice for that fear and anxiety. For the first time it feels like we have a social movement that is able to express concern around climate change in the terms that are needed - as a real, present danger. 9/n
Also, for the first time, we have governments committing to plans and actions commensurate with the scale of the problem in the sense that they commit to building a post-carbon society. 10/n
The UK's net zero commitment is a big and welcome piece of this, as is Europe's commitment to climate neutrality. Even more welcome is the European Green Deal - a big, broad, mainstream economic plan to deliver a zero carbon economy. 11/n
I am hugely proud of the role @ClimateCLG played in helping bring these key changes forward. Business support that we helped pull together did make the key difference in getting the UK's net zero target over the line 12/n corporateleadersgroup.com/reports-eviden…
Business support also was key in helping the Commission make the case for climate neutrality. And @ClimateCLG clearly set out a broad agenda for delivering on climate action which is very similar to what has come out in the Green Deal 🤔13/n corporateleadersgroup.com/reports-eviden…
Internationally, we are in a less good state. COP25 had relatively little to do and nearly failed to do any of it. The remaining details under the Paris Agreement that have proven too difficult to agree before 2019, remain unagreed. 14/n
More importantly the talks suffered from core disconnect: on the one hand concern is rising, commitments to action by business is rising, and leading countries are continuing to act; on the other many big countries drag their feet and shamefully deny the need to do more. 15/n
This year there's a lot that needs to happen to ensure the world raises its game. As host for @ukcop26 the UK, supported by Italy has a key role to play. 16/n
But if we are to credibly play that role then we need to urgently step up implementation of our own climate action. The UK's track record on this over the last 10 years has been good in many aspects, but without action we are set to fall far short of where we need to be. 17/n
Our recent election may provide some hope that that will happen. Political uncertainty has diminished, to an extent, and the election demonstrated that increased climate ambition is firmly in the centre ground of UK politics. 18/n
Europe is also key. With the US government opposing climate action, despite clear messages from its businesses. citizens and states and cities that that is the wrong thing to do the EU has to take on a greater global leadership role. 19/n
As climate and geopolitics guru @Mabeytweet clearly sets out the EU-China Summit this September provides a key opportunity to boost global climate ambition. 20/n e3g.org/library/prospe…
As the world's biggest single market, and the most mature climate policy regime, the EU has a critical role to play to prove that climate action can be good for its economy and its people. 21/n
The Green Deal offers a potential route to do that but there's a lot of detail and politics to be resolved. 22/n
2020 promises to be an incredibly packed year of discussions and new policies and actions to try and move the dial on all of the above. Which is... essential. Because we have to do better. 23/n
Because the biggest thing about 2019, from my perspective as both a professional climate hawk and a human being interested in the future of my family and society and that of other humans, is that global emissions didn’t peak – they kept on going up. 24/n
Unfortunately this is the inexorable scorecard we have to keep referring to. Even though real progress is being made, if we can't change that then it doesn't matter. 25/n
And if I look for hope about that, it has to be on the basis that we are not just at the beginning of a new year, but a new decade. 26/n
It genuinely feels like that to me - the progress and changes we made last year have unlocked not just new energy to deliver changes this year, but new politics, a new way of looking at things and a set of new institutions that can make much bigger changes possible. 27/n
In addition to the growth of new climate activism, the spread of net zero thinking, the potential of the Green Deal and more there are other examples - the new @NetZeroUK citizens' assembly is very promising. The launch of @TEDCountdown as well. 28/n
If I look back at what looked possible or probable on climate change ten years ago, it would have been less than we have achieved today. This is not a new thing to say, but we need a decade of delivery ahead that will deliver more change, that is even harder to imagine. 29/30
So to finish this mega-thread - there is a quote from the Economist Rudiger Dornbusch - “In economics, things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then they happen faster than you thought they could.” 30/30
