This weather is not the new normal. If only it were. As long as we keep emitting more CO2 into the air, the climate will keep warming. Don't think of this as the hottest summer ever. Think of it as the coolest summer of the rest of your life. 1/5
A fundamental law of nature: If you reward something you get more of it.
What do you get if you reward pollution ? More pollution.
What do you get if you reward delay ? More delay.
What do you get if you reward stupidity ? More stupidity.
2/5
Behold the main reason why 30 years after recognizing we are facing a climate crisis, annual global CO2 emissions are still RISING. If you want the right things to happen, you have to reward the right things.
3/5
The observation:"Doing nothing costs much more than acting now" although 1000% correct DOESN'T HELP. The key question is: to WHOM does it cost more ?
Fossil fuel companies are making record profits. That's all that matters. Pollution pays, delay pays, stupidity pays.
4/5
The only real climate solution is accountability. Make polluters pay for the damage they cause.
Put a price on CO2 emissions. Use the proceeds to help the people make the energy transition. 5/5
@fbirol@IEA Imo this advice shows a much too linear way of thinking.
The most important scientific concept we learn in school is addition. The most important scientific concept in nature is the feedback loop. Actually, we should be learning about feedback before we learn sums. 1/4
@fbirol@IEA In the climate debate, too, we need to get away from the idea that we can reduce X tonnes of CO2 in one place, Y tonnes in another, Z tonnes in another, and that the result will X+Y+Z. Feedback cancels all that out. 2/4
@fbirol@IEA A few examples:
- During the lockdown, fossil fuel demand fell dramatically. Result: oil prices even became negative. This stimulated ff consumption again.
- EU wants to reduce consumption of Russian fossil fuels. Russia sells the fossil fuels at a lower price to China. 3/4