Words matter and I like Liam Kavanagh's discussion of climate words.
Kavanagh argues that if we say “1.5 is alive” many readers will think we mean “we’ve got a practical chance of meeting 1.5 °C with the political processes we have in place”. And that, of course, is nonsense.
The IPCC Synthesis report says explicitly that we need (para C.1)
“increased international cooperation
including improved access to adequate financial resources, particularly for
vulnerable regions, sectors and groups, and inclusive governance and
coordinated policies".
Indeed we do but we shan't get it without profound political change.
So we should stop saying the comfortable positive things. If we must say that 1.5 is alive we MUST add that it can only stay alive if we move immediately to increased international cooperation on priorities and funding, and everything else.
As XR says - Tell the truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment