Will World Leaders Take Action To Mitigate Climate Change?

This fellow thinks it’s folly to expect world leaders to do anything substantial about climate change. I’m not as pessimistic, though I admit that this is an extremely complicated situation.  To begin with, solving the climate problem in such a way that leaves India and China free to burn all the coal they can get their hands on is not a solution at all.  We either lower emissions on a planetary basis, or we’re cooked–literally.

Having said that:

Some world leaders are fine people, and want to do what’s right.  Of course, others are criminal sociopaths; we need to confront that fact too.

Many world leaders will find themselves under great pressure from their constituents to take effective action, though, on the other hand (and doesn’t it suck that there’s always “another hand?”), they’re under pressure from the fossil fuel industry to do nothing.

Big Oil will eventually lose out here.  Their power, while great, is limited, and the power of the people is virtually unlimited, because there are 8 billion of us, and currently, just a few percent of us is active.  That figure is growing every day.

In addition, market economics is exerting pressure against the fossil fuel boys, as the cost of renewable energy, energy storage, electric transportation, and efficiency solutions are all falling rapidly.

I think it’s clear that we are going to get there.  “On the other hand,” are we going to get there on time?