Today United for the Future launches at COP31 today with a plan to unite 100 million people in peaceful, non-partisan marches in cities worldwide. Their goal is to assemble the largest coordinated climate demonstration in history in order to put climate action back at the top of the political agenda.
Backers of the initiative include Christiana Figueres, former UN climate chief and a key architect of the Paris Agreement; Bill McKibben, author and co-founder of 350.org; Ram Ramanathan of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego; and Sandrine Dixson-Declève, honorary president of the Club of Rome.
Together, they beckon citizens around the world: “Protect our future. Act on the science.” Their call asks governments to stop weakening climate protections and to deliver action that cuts emissions and protects nature in line with science.
Limiting temperature rise to a 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above the preindustrial levels of the early 1800s was a goal established during the 2015 Paris Agreement. Since then, it’s been a focus of international climate negotiations, and one that’s often been politically contentious.
“For too many people, climate change is deadly,” UN climate chief Simon Stiell said at COP31. “At this COP, nations face a choice: electric or shock. Rewire the global economy for the electric age. Or accept ongoing fossil fuel cost pain for families, firms, and governments.”
4% in 2026, driven by expansion of solar and wind power and the Iran conflict, according to new research by the Global Carbon Project .
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