Climate change is speeding up. Our response needs to be even faster

The author emphasizes the urgency of the Paris Agreement's five-yearly cycle for deepening emission targets, noting that global warming impacts are accelerating faster than predicted. The text highlights the role of the Global Climate Action Summit in California and the potential for major emitters like China, India, and the EU to lead by example. It notes a shift in the real economy where clean energy investments ($333 billion in 2017) have significantly surpassed fossil fuel investments ($144 billion), with renewables predicted to be cheaper than fossil fuels in all markets by 2020.

• The Paris Agreement requires countries to increase the depth of their emission reduction targets every five years, with the first major update cycle scheduled for 2020.
• Global investment in clean energy has overtaken fossil fuel investment, with $333 billion invested in clean energy compared to $144 billion in fossil fuels in 2017.
• Renewable energy is expected to be more cost-effective than fossil fuels across all markets by 2020.
• China, India, and the EU collectively represent over 40% of global emissions and are positioned to influence other economies in Asia and Latin America to accelerate their climate actions.
• To meet climate needs after 2020, annual global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced to half of the levels seen in the previous decade.

APA

Figueres, C. (2018). Climate change is speeding up. Our response needs to be even faster. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/why-there-need-for-speed-on-climate-action-paris-agreement/

Chicago

Figueres, Christiana. Climate change is speeding up. Our response needs to be even faster. World Economic Forum, 2018. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/why-there-need-for-speed-on-climate-action-paris-agreement/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Figueres |first1=Christiana |title=Climate change is speeding up. Our response needs to be even faster |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=7 September 2018 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/why-there-need-for-speed-on-climate-action-paris-agreement/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{figueres2018climate, author = {Figueres, Christiana}, title = {{Climate change is speeding up. Our response needs to be even faster}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = sep, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/why-there-need-for-speed-on-climate-action-paris-agreement/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }