Is there still a debate over climate change? Yes and no. As a scientific matter, the issues of whether it\u2019s happening and who\u2019s to blame are long settled. But there\u2019s no end to debates about what to do about it. Arguments about the need for and costs of action are playing out against a nonstop, live-on-TV drama of the massive storms, record wildfires and deadly heat waves already\u00a0fueled\u00a0by global warming.<\/p>\n
For one thing, there\u2019s been a revolution in renewable energy. The price of wind and solar has plunged in a way even its most ardent backers wouldn\u2019t have dared dream 20 years ago. Bloomberg NEF\u00a0projects\u00a0that by 2050, renewable power will produce two-thirds of the world\u2019s electricity, the same fraction that fossil fuel produces today. The world\u2019s biggest polluter, China, is taking far more aggressive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than was expected even a decade ago. A\u00a0combination\u00a0of slower economic growth and a drive for cleaner air have put China ahead of schedule for its emissions to peak by 2030.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s robust argument over how to balance the effort put into mitigation versus adaptation. Mitigation gets most of the attention \u2014 the headline news from the 2015 Paris climate accord, for instance, was about the pledges different countries made to limit the release of greenhouse gases. But adaptation is becoming a pressing need as temperatures rise. Some communities are already\u00a0trying to\u00a0relocate away from rising waters. Storm-surge barriers and flood gates geared to climate change have gone up in Rotterdam and Venice. New York installed gates after parts of the city were inundated by the surge driven by super storm Sandy in 2012, and Houston, flooded by Hurricane Harvey\u2019s torrential rains in 2017, is considering new defenses. Even steps as small as providing air conditioners for the poor can play an important role in making cities livable in a hotter future.<\/p>\n
Even though President Donald Trump intends to pull the world\u2019s biggest economy out of the accord, the U.S. is still participating in nuts and bolts discussions on implementing the voluntary pledges made by almost 200 countries. Coalitions of cities, states, businesses and universities in groups such as\u00a0We Are Still In\u00a0and\u00a0America\u2019s Pledge\u00a0have organized to keep progress going in the U.S. even if the country formally leaves the pact. (America\u2019s Pledge was co-founded by Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. He has told the New York Times that he is considering a campaign for president.) The U.S. is currently seen as on track for its climate goals for 2020 but falling short of its longer-term pledges, as are the European Union and Japan,\u00a0according to Climate Action Tracker, a research project.<\/p>\n
Money. Trump said the Paris pact would hurt American workers and amounted to a \u201cmassive redistribution\u201d of wealth from the U.S. to other countries. Meeting the Paris goals would conflict with his efforts to revive U.S. coal production. He\u2019s also moved to water down fuel-efficiency\u00a0standards\u00a0and proposed rolling back Obama-era\u00a0regulations<\/a>\u00a0meant to force utilities to reduce emissions. Officials in his administration insist that U.S. economic growth is a more urgent priority than climate change.<\/p>\n Influential groups of voters in countries where a shift away from dirty fuels has raised energy prices. In Australia, Malcolm Turnbull was pushed out as prime minister in August after conservatives in his party\u00a0rebelled\u00a0over his plan to write the country\u2019s Paris targets into law. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2015 bowed to pressure to allow pipelines carrying carbon-heavy oil from tar sands to be expanded. Now his\u00a0plan\u00a0for a national carbon price to drive down emissions is under attack and is expected to be a focus for his opponents in 2019 elections.<\/p>\n5. Who\u2019s agreeing with him?<\/h3>\n
6. How much would meaningful action cost?<\/h3>\n