IPSE'S AUTHORS LAST 24h
Check all the Authors in the last 24h
IPSEs IN THE LAST 24H
  • Andrei Soldatov
    Andrei Soldatov “The problem is to actually be able to prevent terrorist attacks, you need to have a really good and efficient system of intelligence sharing and intelligence gathering. Trust is needed inside the home agency and with agencies of other countries, as is good coordination. That's where you have problems.” 17 hours ago
  • Dmitry Peskov
    Dmitry Peskov “All war crimes [committed] by the Kyiv regime are thoroughly documented. We were well aware of these crimes. And, of course, we will make sure that those behind these crimes are duly punished.” 17 hours ago
  • Timothy Snyder
    Timothy Snyder “The terrorists' car was stopped near Bryansk, which is in western Russia, and so vaguely near Ukraine, which means that the four Tajiks in a Renault were intending to cross the Ukrainian border, which means that they had Ukrainian backers, which means that it was a Ukrainian operation, which means that the Americans were behind it. The reasoning here leaves something to be desired. And the series of associations rests on no factual basis.” 18 hours ago
  • Vladimir Putin
    Vladimir Putin “We have no aggressive intentions towards these states. The idea that we will attack some other country - Poland, the Baltic States, and the Czechs are also being scared - is complete nonsense. It's just drivel. If they supply F-16s, and they are talking about this and are apparently training pilots, this will not change the situation on the battlefield. And we will destroy the aircraft just as we destroy today tanks, armoured vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers. Of course, if they will be used from airfields in third countries, they become for us legitimate targets, wherever they might be located.” 18 hours ago
View All IPSEs inserted in the Last 24h
NEW CONTEXTS IN THE LAST 24H
  • No New Contexts inserted in the last 24 hours
View All New Contexts inserted in the last 24h

Environment

Page with all the IPSEs stored in the archive with Category Environment.
The IPSEs are presented in chronological order based on when the IPSEs have been pronounced.

“The World Meteorological Organization community is sounding the Red Alert to the world. What we witnessed in 2023, especially with the unprecedented ocean warmth, glacier retreat and Antarctic sea ice loss, is cause for particular concern. Ocean heat is particularly concerning because it is almost irreversible. The trend is really very worrying and that is because of the characteristics of water that keep heat content for longer than the atmosphere.”

author
Secretary General of World Meteorological Organization
Read More

“Twenty years from now, a summer like this is going to feel like a mild summer. In terms of incredibly frenetic pace of global extremes we are seeing this summer, in terms of temperatures and precipitation, that's only going to get worse as the climate continues to warm.”

author
Climate scientist at the University of California Los Angeles
Read More

“European and North American temperatures would have been virtually impossible without the effects of climate change. In China it was around 50 times more likely to happen compared to the past.”

author
Climatologist of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
Read More

“We're in 2023 in the middle of a climate crisis, and while destroying a village to expand one of the biggest carbon bombs in Europe should be considered criminal, it is still legal. Fossil fuel companies' influence is so powerful that the ones considered criminals now are the ones fighting for climate justice. It is time to hold fossil fuel companies accountable.”

author
Climate campaign strategist at Greenpeace International
Read More

“Monday, December 5, 2022, was an important day in science. Reaching ignition in a controlled fusion experiment is an achievement that has come after more than 60 years of global research.”

author
Undersecretary for nuclear security at the Department of Energy
Read More

“That is painful, but it is a sheer necessity in this situation to reduce gas consumption. But if we don't do it, then we run the risk that the storage facilities will not be full enough at the end of the year towards the winter season. And then we are blackmailable on a political level.”

author
Vice Chancellor of Germany and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
Read More

“The energy crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine has seen a perilous doubling down on fossil fuels by the major economies. New funding for fossil fuel exploration and production infrastructure is delusional and will worsen the global problems of pollution and climate change. Had we invested massively in renewable energy in the past, we should not be so dramatically at the mercy of the instability of fossil fuel markets now.”

author
Secretary-general of the United Nations
Read More

“Carbon dioxide is at levels our species has never experienced before - this is not new. We have known about this for half a century, and have failed to do anything meaningful about it. What's it going to take for us to wake up?”

author
Scientist with the Global Monitoring Laboratory at NOAA
Read More

“Perhaps good things are going to come out of this, not for Ukraine, not for Russia-Europe relations, but possibly for energy and environment. The best case [scenario] would be that we had retained Russian supplies but this has created a massive impetus to move towards renewables, batteries … and energy efficiency.”

author
Directory of Oxford Institute of Energy Studies
Read More

“Ten years ago, diesel cars accounted for 75% of new sales there. Today they make up just 2.3%. Two-thirds of all new cars sold there [Norway] in 2021 were EVs and the predictions are that proportion will reach 80% this year. Ye olde internal combustion engine seems destined for extinction in that particular part of the frozen north.”

author
Professor of the public understanding of technology at the Open University
Read More

“When we talk about the trees being cut down, it's not just the trees. All of these trees are home to protected species. The environmental impact is enormous. Ecocide is not yet recognised in French law, unfortunately. But this will be an ecocide.”

author
Member of environment collective 'Touche pas à mon Bois de Vincennes'
Read More

“The democracy emergency is closely linked to the climate crisis. Each is grounded in a big lie - that climate science is a hoax, that Trump won in 2020 - pushed by the same rightwing politicians and propaganda “news” outlets and embraced with cult-like devotion by Trump's followers. Left untreated, each threatens disaster. If Trump's forces do change enough electoral rules and personnel to guarantee victory in 2022 and beyond, there is zero chance the US government will take the strong climate action needed to avert global catastrophe.”

author
Journalist and executive director of Covering Climate Now
Read More

“Imagine it's the near future. You leave your house and the air is clean and fresh. You get in a car or bus that's clean and electric and it takes you wherever you want to go. So is this some impossible utopia? No. Not at all. It's absolutely possible. And we already have the map that gets us there: the Paris Climate Agreement. And almost 200 countries have already signed on. Every five years each nation has to report back on how they are reducing their carbon footprint and what they are doing to keep global temperature from raising more than 1.5° Celsius. This is personal for me. I don't want to choke on the air I breathe, or see wildfires burning out of control. So let's keep working together. You too can protect what is left and repair what has been damaged. So help me spread the word by posting your support of the Paris Agreement.”

author
United Nations Environment Goodwill Ambassador for North America
Read More

“A government that cannot warn the people when they see a natural disaster escalating or change its schedule to help when people are stranded and transportation is disrupted, do not give confidence that they will be able to help us recover from other crises, including the ongoing pandemic.”

author
Malaysian politician - Leader of the opposition
Read More

“When we pump out carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, what tends to happens is that this creates a global seeping effect where greenhouse gases trap heat and under warmer conditions, our atmosphere is able to hold more vapour and moisture. When you have an accumulation effect, the longer-term impact of this is that you have sudden downpour of rain in certain localised areas, and that is what you have seen in the floods over Malaysia in the last few days. It's becoming harder for climatologists to predict the weather with a higher level of accuracy due to the climate change phenomenon.”

author
Climate change advisor to the Centre for Governance and Political Studies (Cent-GPS), a Malaysia-based behavioral and social science research firm
Read More

“As Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate noted in her recent book A Bigger Picture, species are going extinct at a rate greater than the time of the dinosaurs. And as Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, explained in her opening speech at COP26, island nations are now facing a death sentence. One powerful solution to break this bloody chain of damage is to get “ecocide” recognised as a serious crime in international law.”

author
Campaigner, political lobbyist, and justice activist who writes about feminism, European politics, and climate justice
Read More

“I don't think there are many people today who could see climate change as not being macro critical for stability, growth and employment. It is. And the reason the IMF is engaged on this topic is because for our members, it matters.”

author
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
Read More

“To the untrained ear, net zero (also known as carbon neutrality) sounds deceptively like zero - and therein lies the marketing genius behind this term and its rapidly gaining popularity. It gives the impression that emissions will be (largely) eliminated. However, while one factor in this equation relates to cutting down the level of greenhouse gas emissions, the other involves so-called offsetting, i.e. balancing emissions in one place against reductions in another.”

author
Read More

“In the last six months, B.C. has both burned and drowned. So there's really no greater evidence of climate change right now than here in British Columbia.”

author
Executive director of Clean Energy Canada, a climate program at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver
Read More

“We were disappointed with the last-minute change to the language around coal. I think we were quite disappointed, as well as other Pacific island countries, with that last-minute change. It's basically the survival of countries like Tuvalu (at stake).”

author
Foreign Minister of Tuvalu
Read More

“Right now it [nuclear power] plays a fairly significant role in electricity production in a number of countries. I imagine that will continue for many decades. And then we'll see what happens. I don't know. I don't have a good crystal ball. I can just tell you that we're going through a massive change. I don't know whether there's the will, globally, to move away from fossil fuels as seriously and as quickly as we need to. We need to do it yesterday. And nuclear power would be part of that mix, potentially, if we were really, really serious. But it means a lot of money. So somebody has to pay for this.”

author
Professor and the director of the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia - Former chair of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Read More

“What needs to be done? Two things at the very least. First, a complete shutdown of coalmines and new oil and gas rigs. If governments can lock us down to save lives during a pandemic, they can shut down the fossil fuel industry to save humanity. Second, we need a global carbon tax, to increase the relative price of everything that releases more carbon, and from which all proceeds should be returned to the poorer members of our species.”

author
Economist and politician - Co-founder of DiEM25 (Democracy in Europe Movement)
Read More

“The pledges so far made at COP26 are quite inadequate and considering only those targets for 2030 would limit global warming to 2.4 degrees Celsius. The picture is slightly better if you add incredible net-zero goals, which would bring the warming down to 2.1 degrees Celsius (3.8F). But the really big problem is that the policies and actions that governments actually have in place would push warming to 2.7 degrees Celsius, in other words, there is a huge gap between what come governments promising and what they're doing.”

author
CEO of Climate Analytics
Read More

“Even with all new Glasgow pledges for 2030, we will emit roughly twice as much in 2030 as required for 1.5C. Policy implementation on the ground is advancing at a snail's pace. In an optimistic scenario where some countries' longer-term goals to stop increasing the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere - net zero - by 2050 or later were actually implemented, warming could be limited to 1.8C (3.2F) this century.”

author
News released by Climate Action Tracker
Read More

“When they say cut in Africa, what do they want to cut? There's nothing to cut here. African countries are the ones on the receiving end of this problem. It's the bigger emitters that should have the responsibility to cut. We should be sensitive to history.”

author
Zimbabwe-based climate director at the Open Society Foundation
Read More

“The perception of India's announcement depends on the benchmark used. The 2070 net-zero target was diplomatically necessary - the last major economy to fall in the basket - but more a box to be checked under diplomatic pressure, and ideally should have been linked to developed countries reaching net zero before 2050.”

author
Professor at the Centre for Policy Research
Read More

“[The commitments] send a signal to the rest of the world - that despite significant developmental challenges and the COVID-19 induced economic challenges, India is stepping up with enhanced pledges.”

author
Director energy program at WRI India
Read More

“The potential intensification of heatwaves in the already harsh, hot and arid MENA [Middle East and North Africa] environment is expected to have direct negative impacts on human health, agriculture, the water and energy nexus, and many other socioeconomic sectors. Societal impacts may be relatively large … Moreover, the human population of the MENA region is projected to peak around the year 2065. Therefore, the threat to water supplies in the region with temperatures rising is very much serious.”

author
Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change's director of hydrogeological impacts
Read More

“Heat stress during summers will reach or exceed the thresholds of human survivability, at least in some parts of the region [Middle East and North Africa] and for the warmest months.”

author
Lead author of the study
Read More

“We have said very clearly we are not closing coal mines and we are not closing coal-fired power stations. And that is why we will continue to have markets for decades into the future. And if they're buying... well, we are selling. If we aren't to win that market, somebody else will. I would much rather it be Australia's high-quality product, delivering Australian jobs and building Australia's economy than coming from Indonesia or Russia or elsewhere.”

author
Australia's Resources Minister
Read More

“I was wondering three days ago during a negotiation session why it is so difficult for rich countries to pay this money. It's not aid. It's accountability. My opinion is that in the north, there is a psychological distance to the problem. People see documentary and pictures but do not feel it like we feel it when I go to the southern part of my country. People from the deep south of Madagascar are victims of something that they didn't do. They move to the west of Madagascar and it's a real risk to the biodiversity. When they move, they directly go to the protected areas where they can find resources like wood and medicinal plants - things that are normally forbidden. We should forbid the low-cost flights where you sometimes have two people go from Paris to Madrid or from Edinburgh to Vienna. It's a high-cost flight for people in my country. They pay the price of that. In September, I was attending the IUCN congress in Marseille, and I was totally shocked to see people dining outside restaurants that they are heating [with gas]. This should be illegal. There are many things that should be changed in the way of life of many European or North American or Chinese people. You have to make a choice or have to make a sacrifice.”

author
Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Madagascar
Read More

“A tiny elite appear to have a free pass to pollute. Their oversized emissions are fuelling extreme weather around the world and jeopardising the international goal of limiting global heating.”

author
Climate policy lead at Oxfam
Read More

“Diminishing water resources, poor water quality, and a lack of integrated approaches could create a recipe for destabilisation. Many water conflicts … are going to happen in the future due to these kinds of situations. Climate change is exacerbating all this and posing further threats.”

author
Climate adviser to People in Need international NGO providing humanitarian aid and development assistance in Iraq
Read More

“Climate change is one of the factors that has led to desertification and drought in Iraq. Reduced water levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are exacerbating this. The discharge of water through those rivers that originated in Iran and Turkey is now decreased by 50 percent.”

author
Lecturer in geology at Salahaddin University
Read More

“Unfortunately, our government is actually expanding the coal industry. We're opening up new coal mines with project lifespans of 25 years or so. If we continue with this, we'd put the Paris climate goals out of reach.”

author
Climate change expert at the Australian National University
Read More

“The end of coal is in sight. The world is moving in the right direction, standing ready to seal coal's fate and embrace the environmental and economic benefits of building a future that is powered by clean energy.”

author
UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Read More

“Actions speak louder than words. What we need in order to deal with climate change is concrete action rather than empty words. China's actions in response to climate change are real.”

author
Spokesperson of China and deputy director of the Foreign Ministry Information Department of China
Read More

“It just is a gigantic issue and they walked away. How do you do that and claim to be able to have any leadership? It's been a big mistake, quite frankly, for China not showing up. The rest of the world looked at China and said 'What value are they providing?'.”

author
President of the United States
Read More

“More than 80 countries had signed on to the methane cut, which would immediately slow down climate change. About 30 percent of global warming since the Industrial Revolution is due to methane. Today global methane emissions grow faster than at any time in the past. Reducing methane is one of the most effective ways to reduce near-term warming and keep the Paris goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming alive. It is the lowest hanging fruit.”

author
President of the European Commission
Read More

“This [cutting carbon emissions by 40 percent from 2018 levels by 2030] is a bold objective that was raised by about 14 percentage points from the previous target. This is a very challenging task of having to steeply reduce greenhouse gases in a short period of time. It is not an easy task, but South Korea has decided now is the time to act. Following the inauguration of our government, eight coal-fired power plants were shut down. By the end of this year, two additional plants are scheduled to close. We will put a complete end to coal-fired power generation by 2050. Moreover, official financial support for the construction of new coal-fired power plants overseas has already been suspended.”

author
President of South Korea
Read More

“By 2070, India will achieve the target of net-zero emissions. Instead of mindless and destructive consumption we need mindful and deliberate utilisation. These choices, made by billions of people, can take the fight against climate change one step further.”

author
Prime Minister of India
Read More

“We need to continue to press for real action, which is uncomfortable for many politicians, including Justin Trudeau. But between being politically uncomfortable and saying to our children, 'We can't guarantee you a livable world,' I don't think we have any choice.”

author
Green Party parliamentary leader
Read More

“The biggest challenge we have is oil and gas production. Unfortunately, the solution he came up with focused on emissions and not production. And what that allows is for oil and gas companies to continue to put forward false solutions and net zero plans that are far into the future.”

author
National climate program manager at Environmental Defence
Read More

“We didn't get any commitment to Canada thinking through an economic transition and diversification strategy that means we're going to stop exporting a huge amount of emissions to the rest of the world. I was really hoping that we would hear more from Canada when it comes to the level of ambition that's needed in our energy transition.”

author
Executive director of Destination Zero and a member of the net-zero advisory panel
Read More

“We'll cap oil and gas sector emissions today and ensure they decrease tomorrow at a pace and scale needed to reach net-zero by 2050. That's no small task for a major oil and gas producing country. It's a big step that's absolutely necessary.”

author
Prime Minister of Canada
Read More

“We think of our air as being relatively clean in North America. And so one of the things I think is so incredible is how many people are still affected by our air quality, even though it's so much better than it was decades ago. The striking predictions suggest human actions to curb air pollution now can make a difference in both the long and short term. Fewer children going to the hospital with asthma attacks, fewer elderly people dying of respiratory illnesses or heart attacks. I think most anywhere that takes action to mitigate climate change can expect to see enormous benefits very, very rapidly … if the whole world co-operates, then of course, we also solve the climate crisis.”

author
Physicist and a climate specialist and professor at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment
Read More

“The target decided by the government [40 percent from 2018 levels by 2030] is very disappointing. To prevent the worst degree of climate change, we should immediately start reducing greenhouse gas emissions to significant levels and achieve at least a 50 percent reduction in 2030 from 2018 levels. If the government announces this target at COP26, it will face a cold reaction from international citizens. International investment institutions and global companies, which place importance on responses to climate change in their investment decisions, will also have doubts on the future of South Korea's economy.”

author
Climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace Korea
Read More

“We need to come out of Glasgow saying with credibility that we have kept 1.5 alive. We're already at global warming at 1.1 degrees above pre-industrial levels. At 1.5 there are countries in the world that will be underwater, and that's why we need to get an agreement here on how we tackle climate change over the next decade.”

author
President of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26)
Read More

“Guilbeault's [Steven Guilbeault] appointment is not the only signal Trudeau's government sent on climate with its new cabinet appointments this week. Canada's former environment minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, was named the new minister of natural resources. That role had previously been held by a Seamus O'Regan who championed fossil fuel interests. He [O'Regan] was a disaster in my view. He was the inside man for the oil and gas industry in cabinet and had been holding back progress on the environment.”

author
Professor of political science at the University of Alberta
Read More

“It's a cause for concern. He [Steven Guilbeault] has opposed every pipeline in Canada, every oil sands project, everything we need to do in Alberta to get our product to market. We are seeing a global crisis where prices are skyrocketing for oil and gas and a lot of that is because of green agendas.”

author
Alberta’s Energy Minister
Read More

“There is absolutely no question that this is a reality we must face. I would say that humanity as a whole is about 5-1 down at half-time. We've got a long way to go, but we can do it. We have the ability to come back but it's going to take a huge amount of effort. Team World is up against a very formidable opponent in climate change. Rome's ancient monuments could be seen as a memento mori to us, demonstrating how quickly civilisations can decline. Humanity, civilisation, society, can go backwards as well as forwards, and when things start to go wrong they can go wrong at extraordinary speed. You saw that with the decline and fall of the Roman empire, and I'm afraid to say that it's true today that unless we get this right in tackling climate change, we could see our civilisation, our world also go backwards.”

author
UK Prime Minister
Read More

“China's latest pledges gave no answers to key questions about the country's emissions. At what level will emissions peak and how fast should they fall after the peak?”

author
Lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air in Helsinki
Read More

“China's decision on its NDC [nationally determined contributions] casts a shadow on the global climate effort. In light of the domestic economic uncertainties, the country appears hesitant to embrace stronger near term targets, and missed an opportunity to demonstrate ambition. The planet can't afford this being the last word. Beijing needs to come up with stronger implementation plans to ensure an emission peak before 2025.”

author
Senior climate adviser with the environmental group Greenpeace
Read More

“Expectations for China's new climate plan were low because the government's narrative amid the country's ongoing energy crisis, which has seen prices rise, has been about a steady and careful energy transition rather than big ambition. On the positive side, it means Xi Jinping not coming [to Glasgow] is not a sign that China is either not interested or lacks seriousness or commitment. But on the downside, it's not a big mood lifter, to be honest.”

author
Journalist and founder of China Dialogue
Read More

“You can't sugar-coat, it is disappointing. The world was expecting more from China at this point. It has missed a chance to slow global leadership. However China's promise to peak emissions before 2030 is a positive step.”

author
Climate expert at Chatham House
Read More

“It would be great news if the legislation passes because the climate math is brutal. Even if we are lucky enough to get this bill over the finish line, we need more next year. The climate clock is ticking.”

author
Climate policy expert at the University of California, Santa Barbara
Read More

“Given the prime opportunity to cancel billions of dollars in domestic subsidies for oil and gas polluters, the president and congressional leadership have rolled over. A climate plan that fails to directly confront the oil and gas industry cannot possibly be considered meaningful.”

author
Policy director of Food and Water Watch
Read More

“The bill will represent the most significant investment to address the climate crisis ever and will truly transform this nation. We are going to get off the sidelines of manufacturing solar panels and wind farms. The package will help double the number of electric cars on US roads within three years and provide 500,000 new charging stations for the vehicles. We are once again going to be the innovators. It's a big deal. The weather is not going to get better, it's going to get a heck of a lot worse. It's a blinking code red for America and the world.”

author
President of the United States
Read More

“Thawing permafrost is like a massive truck that's gaining momentum - and it's got a braking distance. Even if we reduce warming, permafrost is still going to be responding to that peak temperature and pumping out carbon. If we want to minimise carbon emissions from permafrost, we have to cut global emissions now.”

author
Arctic ecologist at Woodwell Climate Research Center
Read More

“We can more or less control the burning of fossil fuels through political decisions and economic regulations. But we cannot ask permafrost to stop releasing methane. We cannot control nature.”

author
Lecturer and geologist at the Institute of Earth Sciences at St Petersburg State University
Read More

“This report is another thundering wake-up call. How many do we need? The emissions gap is the result of a leadership gap. The era of half measures and hollow promises must end. The time for closing the leadership gap must begin in Glasgow.”

author
Secretary-general of the United Nations
Read More

“The G20 countries are responsible for 78 percent of all emissions so the 'to do item' lies with them. The developed countries have a special responsibility to really step up, but actually everyone does - all 193 member states. Action is needed now.”

author
Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Read More

“Overshooting the temperature goals will lead to a destabilised world and endless suffering, especially among those who have contributed the least to the (greenhouse gas) emissions in the atmosphere. We are nowhere near where science says we should be.”

author
Head of the U.N. climate office
Read More

“I welcome Saudi Arabia's announcement of a NetZero target. Countries will get to net zero via different paths, but the threat of climate change is universal. Pledges from major fossil-fuel producers, and their implementation, are vital to reach international climate goals.”

author
Executive Director of the International Energy Agency
Read More

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aims to reach zero-net emissions by 2060 under its circular carbon economy programme … while maintaining the kingdom's leading role in strengthening security and stability of global oil markets.”

author
Crown prince, deputy prime minister, and minister of defense of Saudi Arabia
Read More

“Russia is talking up the merits of their adaptation approach because they want to fully realize the commercial potential of their fossil fuel resources. Overall for Russia the evidence suggests the risks far outweigh the benefits, no matter how optimistic the Russian government's language.”

author
Arctic analyst at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington
Read More

“For years oil companies have been given prominent platforms at the UN climate negotiations, promoting themselves as climate leaders while they continued to pour millions into new fossil fuels, so this is a big step forward.”

author
Co-director of campaign group Culture Unstained
Read More

“The crunch is likely short-term but it's difficult to say how long higher fossil fuel prices will last. But the long-term answer that has to be taken out of this is to invest in renewables and energy saving.”

author
Energy economics expert at the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin
Read More

“It is not about whether China can be less reliant on coal eventually, it is rather about what will happen to a province like ours afterwards. As an activist, of course I'd like to see my home town move away from coal. After all, I grew up only knowing the sky is grey and coal is the only source of energy. But I also worry what will happen to a province whose economy overwhelmingly depends on coal and heavy industries, and the millions of people whose livelihoods are reliant on them. You see, the addiction to coal is not just on a national level, but also on a personal level. It's not easy to move away from. A lot of people here, including another relative of mine, are unhappy with [media] talk of climate change and the [the government's] effort to reduce coal consumption. To us, this is bread and butter. Without it, what would Lüliang look like? They need to start to prepare for a coal-free future right now before it's too late.”

author
Climate campaigner in the Chinese town of Lüliang (Shanxi province)
Read More

“A key issue is the way that international law draws the difference between an island and just a rock, is whether this piece of territory is capable of sustaining human and economic life of its own. Under international law, statehood is established on the presumption that they will continue to be a state, with stability, a defined territory and population. So, the question remains of whether the Marshall Islands' territorial elements being challenged by sea level rise would lead to any impairment of statehood.”

author
Author of the Legal Dimensions of Sea Level Rise and advisor of the World Bank on the report 'Mapping the Marshall Islands'
Read More

“It's always been a dark future, but now that dark future is becoming more clear. I remember first reading the report and thinking, 'Oh, that's what it's going to look like, that's what it's going to cause', and none of it feels good. I can say definitively that it's a really difficult report to get through. One of the islands listed as being 100% underwater, completely covered, is Jaluit, which is actually the island where my family comes from. It's the land that my daughter is named after. So, when I saw that, I had to tell my family that this is about to happen, they needed to be aware of this. It really hit hard.”

author
Poet and climate envoy from the Marshall Islands
Read More

“With a 1-metre sea level rise, we project that about 40% of buildings in the capital, Majuro, would be permanently inundated, permanently flooded. So that is a quite big impact.”

author
World Bank disaster risk management specialist who led the work on the report 'Mapping the Marshall Islands'
Read More

“In such an emergency as we are in right now, everyone needs to take their moral responsibility, at least I think so, and use whatever power they have, whatever platform they have, to try to influence and push in the right direction, to make a change. I think that's our duty as human beings.”

author
Climate Activist
Read More

“We have a huge evidence base now that documents how climate change is affecting our societies and our ecosystems. Climate change is visible and noticeable almost everywhere in the world.”

author
Researcher at the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change in Germany
Read More

“We have to achieve carbon neutrality not because we can, but because we must. Without a swift change (towards greenhouse gas reduction), Korea may face economic consequences arising from the change in the global economic system.”

author
Co-chairman of the committee on Carbon Neutrality and a professor at the Seoul National University Graduate School of Environmental Studies
Read More

“One of the biggest threats the cyclone [Shaheen] poses is that in Oman's desert climate the ground is bone dry, so it can't absorb the rain. The second part is this is a mountainous area, so that means the rain falls high above and it gushes so the combination of both of these would lead to the risk of high flooding.”

author
Al Jazeera’s weather specialist
Read More

“The real crisis looming in the Chinese economy does not concern 'Evergrande,' but the power shortage. Market watchers expect the Chinese government to continue to push for a strong carbon-neutral policy ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics scheduled from Feb. 4 to 20 next year [2022], and this could significantly slow industrial activities. China has tightened production regulations in line with a green initiative. The recent surge in the price of aluminum is explained in large part by production difficulties due to stricter environmental regulations, compounded by rising demand from eco-friendly industries including manufacturers of EVs and batteries.”

author
Chief economist at HI Investment & Securities
Read More

“Build back better. Blah, blah, blah. Green economy. Blah blah blah. Net zero by 2050. Blah, blah, blah. This is all we hear from our so-called leaders. Words that sound great but so far have not led to action. Our hopes and ambitions drown in their empty promises. Of course we need constructive dialogue. But they've now had 30 years of blah, blah, blah and where has that led us? We can still turn this around - it is entirely possible. It will take immediate, drastic annual emission reductions. But not if things go on like today. Our leaders' intentional lack of action is a betrayal toward all present and future generations.”

author
Climate Activist
Read More

“This power shortage will carry huge econ & political implications. But let's set the record straight, the root cause is high coal price, NOT climate policies. You only prove the spin of the heavy industries effective if you believe the latter is the reason.”

author
Senior Policy Advisor at Greenpeace East Asia
Read More

“The dire consequences of climate change can no longer be ignored, and the science linking climate change to past and present emissions of greenhouse gases is now beyond question. Climate change is driving sea level rise, desertification, disease redistribution, floods, unprecedented 'heat domes', cyclones, hurricanes, and other extreme weather events.”

author
Prime Minister of Vanuatu
Read More

“WHO has adjusted almost all the air quality guideline levels downwards, warning that exceeding the new … levels is associated with significant risks to health. The accumulated evidence is sufficient to justify actions to reduce population exposure to key air pollutants, not only in particular countries or regions but on a global scale... Every year, exposure to air pollution is estimated to cause seven million premature deaths and result in the loss of millions more healthy years of life.”

author
Statement by World Health Organization
Read More

“But achieving the $100 billion target alone would not be enough to contain rising global temperatures and cope with the effects of climate change. Instead, the world's financial systems need to reflect the costs of climate inaction. That means companies, banks, investors, and other players will need to reduce investments in high emission activities while boosting funding for climate-friendly goods, services, and infrastructure. The $100 billion is essential as a trust-building issue, and the president's announcement was hugely helpful in that regard. At the same time, it will never be enough to affect the transformation that the Paris Agreement requires-which needs trillions in investment, not billions.”

author
Vice president for international strategies at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
Read More

“China was the last man standing. If there's no public finance of coal from China, there's little to no global coal expansion.”

author
Director of global climate strategy at the Sunrise Project, a group advocating for a global transition from coal and fossil fuels
Read More

“We've been talking to China for quite some period of time about this. And I'm absolutely delighted to hear that President Xi [Xi Jinping] has made this important decision.”

author
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate in Biden's administration
Read More

“China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad.”

author
President of the People's Republic of China
Read More

“I think that the new coalition will increase the work on climate issue as both the IEA (International Energy Agency) and IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report underlined the sense of emergency the world is facing, stating a code red.”

author
Nordea Bank’s chief analyst for sustainable finance
Read More

“The likely compromise has to do with restricting exploration, and the less explored and matured areas are easier to stop exploration in. Also the industry has indicated they are less interested in those areas at the moment. That's a possible outcome, but exactly what that will look like, there are many possibilities.”

author
Researcher at Oslo-based climate think-tank CICERO
Read More

“The Biden administration's narrative that the US is the world's climate leader holding China to account was overblown. It's not even clear if there is enough political will in the US to move away from fossil fuels. All this posturing, this moral self-righteousness is counterproductive and it's also based on a false premise that America is following a better path than it currently is.”

author
Chair of the California-China Climate Institute at UC Berkeley and former Governor of California
Read More

“China's climate progress is filled with irony and has been two steps forward, one step back. It is the biggest manufacturer, investor, and developer of renewable energy on one hand, but single-handedly burns half of the world's coal.”

author
Senior climate adviser with the environmental group Greenpeace
Read More

“We have an opportunity to have positive impact in Glasgow, but it really depends on choices at this point that China makes because we've made our choice. President Biden has put America on a course to have a 50-52% reduction of carbon emissions relative to 2005 levels by 2030.”

author
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate in Biden's administration
Read More
arrow