To Fight Climate Change, Clean Up Carbon Markets
Investors and developing nations can flourish if we put an end to low-grade credits and greenwashing.
Coal is still king.
Photographer: Patrick Pleul/AFP/Getty Images
The hurricanes that have devastated the southeastern US are nature’s latest destructive reminder of the scale of the climate change challenge. Milton, which caused massive flooding and left millions without power, hit Florida shortly after I was in an overcrowded and gridlocked New York with thousands of other delegates for Climate Week NYC.
In meeting after meeting there, I heard the same warning — that we are about 25 years behind the schedule needed to hit the target of net-zero global emissions by 2050. This failure is causing irreversible changes to our planet — for example, ocean currents no longer warming Northern Europe or huge ice sheets melting and raising global sea levels.