Author: Director-General of Greenpeace International Kumi. Kumi Naidoo

Although this agreement has been partially tainted and diluted by industrialists who spare no effort to plunder the earth, it clearly sets a new limit for warming: 1.5 degrees Celsius. That simple number, along with the goal of reaching zero carbon emissions by the second half of this century, has sent shockwaves through the boardrooms of coal companies and the palaces of oil-exporting countries, and that's a good thing. This means that moving away from fossil fuels is an inevitable and inevitable change.

The most important task of this century now lies before us. How to achieve the goal? The simple plan in the agreement is not enough to guide us to a smooth arrival. When it comes to truly meaningful action, Paris has missed its opportunity. We had a 1.5 degree Celsius wall to climb, but the ladder on the wall was not high enough. The carbon reduction plans outlined in the agreement are not ambitious enough to get us where we need to be.

The Paris Agreement does not do enough for countries and people on the front lines of climate change, and there is deep-rooted injustice in this. People who are suffering are losing their lives and livelihoods, paying the price for a problem they did not cause, and the countries that actually caused the climate problem have committed too little about how to help people on the front lines of the crisis.

This agreement is far from enough to automatically rescue us from this situation, but at least it makes the slope less steep. Saving us from the harm of fossil fuels will require more participation. This year, the climate movement resisted Canada’s Keystone XL oil pipeline plan, kicked Shell out of the Arctic, and pushed coal to the limits of decline. We demand clean energy to light up the future. This is a future we will win.

That’s why all our efforts cannot be limited to the conference hall. We have brought our demands for justice, fairness, and environmental protection into the climate negotiations. We hope to accelerate the common call to end fossil fuels and echo around political leaders. We will continue to speak out until the negotiations are over and action begins.

We come to the Paris climate conference with hope. This hope comes not from the promises we look to political leaders to make, but from the climate action you and I and so many others build together. Together, we challenge the few giants of fossil energy, lead the way on solutions to climate change, and move the political boundaries of what is and is not possible.

While our political leaders move slowly and climate action leads the way, we need to make progress faster. From the Arctic to Brazil, from the oil sands of Alberta, Canada to the peatlands of Indonesia, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mediterranean, we will rise up against faceless companies and outdated governments that endanger the next generation. future.

In the face of the crisis of climate change, we must continue to promote beautiful and bold solutions, which are 100% renewable energy that lights up every corner and is available to everyone. We want the world to hear this call and embrace it. this solution. From school playgrounds in Greece to streetlights in India to Arctic villages on Canada’s Clyde River, we will prove that clean, renewable energy does exist and pressure our governments to make it accessible to all. And as soon as possible.

Finally, our thoughts are with the communities on the front lines of the climate crisis, who are the leaders of this movement. These communities include all those who face rising sea levels, are exposed to super hurricanes, and suffer the consequences of our government’s incompetence and inaction. We will stand with these communities, demanding change that no one can ignore.

In 2016, you and I, together as the climate movement, will step up the fight and tell the world that if governments don’t stop polluting carbon emitters, we will take action.

History is flapping its wings, and we are on the right side.