This is a call to action, not a moment to sit back

Dear stubborn optimist,

Extreme and deadly heat across multiple continents is dominating headlines. China recorded its hottest day on record as U.S. climate envoy John Kerry was visiting. He was on a mission to increase joint ambition and implementation on climate between the world’s two biggest economies.?

Meanwhile, Uruguay is in such severe drought that half its population has no access to tap water fit for drinking. The situation there is so dire officials have begun topping up one of the main reservoirs with brackish water from a nearby estuary.?

As the climate crisis hits harder, especially the heat, denialists are digging deeper. #ClimateScam has been trending on Twitter. And in the U.S. one weather presenter who’d been weaving climate messaging into his forecasts recently spoke out about the death threats he’d subsequently received. Viewers complained he was spreading conspiracy theories and that climate change was a hoax.?

But even as some see climate as part of a broader culture war, the heat, fires, droughts, foods and storms will continue to worsen. This means adapting to life on a damaged planet is becoming more important than ever. Will the UK’s newly released climate adaptation plan be sufficient? Will the hard won law to restore degraded natural ecosystems just passed by the European Parliament make a big enough difference? Despite understandable criticisms, both are steps in the right direction and make clear that changes are needed.?

We are in a race against time to protect people and ecosystems here, now and in the future. Our team has been energised by the new research released last week from RMI and Bezos Earth Fund showing that exponential growth of renewable energy is helping remove so much carbon from power systems that fossil fuels are no longer economical.?

A few days after the research was released, Blackrock, the world’s largest investment manager, announced it had appointed Amin Nasser, a known critic of decarbonisation efforts and CEO of the world’s biggest oil company - Saudi Aramco - to its board. Critical of decarbonisation or not, the data clearly shows, we’ve likely passed peak fossil fuels globally and a whole new energy era is now in our grasp.?

As we keep our eyes open to developments on all sides, let's celebrate the good news, remembering all the while that this is a call to action, not a moment to sit back.

If you like this ‘dose of Outrage + Optimism’ and haven’t already, do?sign up to our full bi-weekly email newsletter ?to make sure you’re not just informed about the climate crisis, but also inspired to be part of the changes we all need to make.?

In this week's email newsletter you’ll find:?

?? everything you need to know about upcoming Outrage + Optimism episodes

?? More on our exponential direction of travel and how the energy sector is undergoing an unstoppable transformation

?? Commentary on the news from Crawford Lake in Canada that scientists are on the cusp of proving the concept of the Anthropocene era which asserts that human influence on the planet’s geology has become irreversible. We ask, can the second age of the Anthropocene can be one of community, healing and regeneration? We believe it can.

With stubborn optimism.

The Outrage + Optimism team

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