We must move faster, think more creatively, build stronger relationships, and engender more effective collective action. Jennifer Lentfer is the director of communications of Thousand Currents.
US rural electrification in around a decade. “This is a way of really shaping an economy that works, and that works better, and better for people than a top-down, investor-driven model. It’s hard to believe what happened in the 1930s after the Rural Electrification Act, just enables electric utility cooperatives to access loans at the cost that banks are getting their money. Suddenly, within a decade or so, you had nearly all of rural America electrified. That is an astonishing accomplishment, demonstrating that models are financeable, scalable, and powerful if we allow ourselves to recognize that. (Nathan Schneider, Everything for Everyone)
**
We need a similar rapid transition now…
Bolstering urgent warnings from the global scientific community that the world must rapidly transition away from fossil fuels to avert climate catastrophe and keep global warming below 1.5°C within this century, a new study out Tuesday suggests meeting that end is simply a matter of political will. lead researcher Christopher Smith, of the University of Leeds, told the Guardian. “We are basically saying we can’t build anything now that emits fossil fuels.”
there is a general consensus among the world’s scientists that tackling the climate crisis requires “rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented” societal reforms.
Specifically, the new research shows that if carbon-intensive infrastructure is phased out from this point forward, there is a 64 percent chance of keeping global temperature rise within this century below 1.5°C. However, the window of opportunity is closing quickly.
“We are basically saying we can’t build anything now that emits fossil fuels.”
—Christopher Smith, University of Leeds
Published in the journal Nature Communications, the key takeaway from the study is that “although the challenges laid out by the Paris Agreement are daunting, we indicate 1.5°C remains possible and is attainable with ambitious and immediate emission reduction across all sectors.”
