Climate Action

As we approach the early December COP climate summit, Bert Metz explains what the recent IPCC report on global warming means for the planet, the economy and for Europe.

Political will stands in the way of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, but the Greens’ resolution for ambitious climate action must not waver.

In local climate strategies in Poland, energy poverty and smog are key issues.

Could global cooperation between cities, with mayors from all corners of the globe, be THE key to tackling climate change? We spoke to the mayors of Paris and San Francisco.

Climate action has come to a political standstill, and in spite of mass mobilisation efforts, the general public still have not grasped the urgency of the situation. Will it really take something drastic to bring about real change? As more people begin to ask this question, some stop waiting for the answer and take control: by bringing climate change to the courtroom.

The European Trade Union Institute recent conference on ‘The Socio-Ecological Transition: A New Climate for the EU’s Sustainability Transition’ laid bare the need for radical change to deal with the climate crisis. And if battling climate change requires making our societies less superficial, less focused on expansion and instead more focused on equality, then that’s something we can all fight for.

The new IPCC report on climate change marks the last word from the scientific community ahead of the very important COP21 meeting in Paris next year. Internationally things may be moving in the right direction, but the political will to fully embrace a divestment from fossil fuels to renewables isn’t quite there yet. Nonetheless, activists are working on it…

Images of the People’s Climate March that took place in New York on September 21st have circulated around the world, along with pictures from many other cities. Yet being a part of such a massive and important mobilisation, characterised more than ever by pluralism and diversity, was a truly unique sensation.

Climate change is the biggest threat and the greatest challenge that our civilisation has ever faced and no single country is able to solve this problem on its own. This is why World leaders must urgently achieve an ambitious and binding agreement.