[graenxa]

> it seems climate change is well on its way to being solved

This is laughable untrue.

EMISSIONS may have peaked (I'm not certain that's the case long-term), there's still plenty of carbon in the atmosphere and continuing to be added. The effects of carbon emissions will continue to compound on themselves[0]. We are still well on our way to >2 degree global warming where island nations will be eaten up by the sea, we will struggle to produce food for the population. Much of earth will become unlivable[1].

The effects of carbon emissions on global climate are not linear. They're exponential. Once the changes start they are impossible to stop.

If you think we've got climate change figured out, I really encourage you to read into the subject a little more. It's incredibly serious. We have already started seeing the effects. It's not too late to do something about it, but sitting back and assuming someone else has it figured out it fantastically irresponsible right now.

[0] - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/20/science/earthworms-soil-c... [1] - http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/07/climate-change-earth-...

[Consultant32452]

The world is building and deploying solar panels at break-neck speeds. Electric cars and other pollution reduction measures are coming online.

I'm well aware of the risks from existing coal burning plants, new plants being built in China/India/etc, shipping, feedback loops with stored CO2 in the ocean, all of it.

It's nice to imagine that the world can turn on a dime, but it can't. The global "situation" is going to get worse before it gets better, but the proverbial ball is rolling in the right direction.

[vkou]

> The world is building and deploying solar panels at break-neck speeds.

It doesn't matter how many solar panels are deployed[1] What matters is how many gasoline cars, coal plants, and gas plants are going dark.

Net-over-net, they aren't.

[1] And this decade of break-neck speeds got us to... 2% solar deployment. We may hit 5% in another decade - and we need to get emissions to net zero in six years, if we want to avoid catastrophe.

[Consultant32452]

Some amount of catastrophe is baked in. Coal is bad, but there's a lot of places in the world where coal + global warming is better than no coal without global warming. And some of those simultaneously have precarious economic situations and nuclear weapons. We're only going to nudge them so hard. Honestly, I'm impressed with how well it's going. I suppose we have a different perspective on what we think is actually achievable from a geopolitical standpoint.