In 2015, the world finally, collectively, decided to take climate change seriously. Yes, I'm mostly talking about the historic Paris climate deal, where top negotiators from every country agreed to cut fossil fuel emissions in order to keep global temperatures from rising by 2˚C. A big part of that deal's success came from groundwork laid earlier in the year. Most notably, Obama's coal-cutting Clean Power Plan, and China's commitment to a nationwide cap and trade program.
OK, maybe this victory is bittersweet. After all, climate action could have come a long time ago, if it weren't for decades of obstructive, contrived, and conspiratorial denialism which put millions of human beings—both living and future—in unnecessary danger. And sure, the Paris deal isn't perfect (it effectively relies on peer pressure to make sure countries comply). But after 50 years of warnings, even a tiny bit of progress feels nice.
