The Climate Breakthrough in Beijing Gives the World a Fighting Chance
The Climate Breakthrough in Beijing Gives the World a Fighting Chance
Today’s US-China joint announcement on climate change and energy is the most important advance on the climate change agenda in many years. While the full ramifications will only be known at the climate summit in Paris in December 2015, the two largest C02 emitters have finally spoken, and most importantly, they’ve spoken together. What they’ve said gives the world a fighting chance – and no doubt the last one – for climate safety.
The situation is stark. While the world’s governments agreed back in 2009 that we need to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (relative to the pre-industrial era), in order to avoid massive damages from droughts, floods, extreme heat waves, and rising ocean levels, the brutal fact remains that the world is on course for a catastrophic rise of some 4 to 6 degrees by the end of the century. To avoid catastrophe, and stay below the 2 degree upper limit, CO2 emissions from energy use need to fall very sharply by mid century, and to reach net-zero emissions (“decarbonization”) by around 2070.
In short, the world will need to get almost entirely out of the fossil fuel business in the next half century or so, except for what can be continued safely with the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS). Such a deep transformation is feasible through a combination of three main steps: massive energy efficiency; a pervasive shift to low-carbon and zero-carbon electricity (notably wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, nuclear, and CCS); and the electrification of all vehicle transport and of heating and ventilation in residential and commercial buildings.
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Vuk Jeremić at St. Petersburg Economic Forum: “We Are Living in a Time of Grave Geopolitical Instability”
St. Petersburg, June 2025 – Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on the high-level panel “Eco-Rethinking of the Global Financial System,” Vuk Jeremić, President of the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), delivered a stark warning about the risks posed by escalating global tensions to any serious attempt at international financial system reform.
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CIRSD Hosts Ugandan Presidential Advisor Odrek Rwabwogo in Latest Horizons Discussion: A Deep Dive into Africa’s Industrial Future
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CIRSD Vice President Stefan Jovanović Speaks at Regional Conference on China’s Role in the Western Balkans
Belgrade, June 5, 2025 – Stefan Jovanović, Vice President of the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), participated in the regional conference “Democracy Meets Strategy: Parliament’s Place in China Policy”, held in Belgrade. The event gathered parliamentarians, policymakers, and experts from across the Western Balkans to examine the region’s evolving cooperation with the People’s Republic of China.
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