20 - Moonwalking into the Future

Summary

The Aymara people use the metaphor that the future is behind us and the past is in front of us. Imagine that we are driving a car in reverse into our climate future. The past is in front of us; climate models act as the rearview mirror, showing what lies behind us in the future. The view is blurry because there is uncertainty, and the car is moving fast as we continue to emit greenhouse gases. We need to brake quickly – reduce emissions – because we know that the braking distance is very long. The Paris Agreement to reduce worldwide emissions is like a potluck dinner: Each guest decides how much food to bring. If the guests don’t bring enough food for everyone, then some will leave hungry. Similarly, emission reductions pledged in the Paris Agreement are voluntary and may be not be sufficient to strongly mitigate the warming.