BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 23, 2021
Global carbon dioxide emissions declined globally in 2020 by about 7%, the largest ever. That’s just about the same as the necessary annual emissions reductions (7.6 percent) that need to happen over the next decade if the world is to keep global temperature rise from exceeding 1.5 degrees C, and give the world a fighting chance to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Phasing out fossil fuels will bring an end to jobs in those industries but create many more jobs in renewable energy. We can alter many of our wasteful practices without losing quality of life. If recovery from the pandemic and recession can be combined with aggressive action on climate, the world still has a chance of averting climate catastrophe. ~ Michael Howard, professor of philosophy, University of Maine