The speaker begins by expressing the urgency of climate change, stating that our emissions are not falling quickly enough to avoid runaway warming and potential ecosystem collapse. They note the lack of political action and the continued opposition from the fossil fuel industry. The speaker also acknowledges the anxiety and depression felt by young people, who worry about their future.
Despite the grim outlook, the speaker asserts that humanity is not doomed. They highlight the progress made in the last decade, including the slowing down of coal burning in developing countries, the rise of renewable energy, and the decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in rich countries. They also discuss the shift in the global industrial system towards sustainability, with technologies becoming cheaper and more efficient.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of hope and belief in the possibility of change. They argue that the dire scenarios are just predictions, not a sealed fate, and that it is up to us to prove these predictions wrong. They encourage viewers to learn new things and keep their optimism and curiosity alive. They conclude by inviting viewers to sign up for a free trial of Brilliant.org, a platform that offers interactive courses in maths, science, and computer science.
1. The home is burning due to rapid climate change.
2. Emissions are not expected to fall quickly enough to avoid runaway warming and potential collapse of ecosystems and civilization.
3. Many politicians are not committed to doing anything meaningful to combat climate change.
4. The fossil fuel industry is actively working against change.
5. Humanity's greed and obsession with short-term profit and personal gain are hindering efforts to save the planet.
6. Young people are feeling particularly anxious and depressed about the future.
7. As of 2022, the global average temperature has risen 1.2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times.
8. Warming beyond two degrees makes extreme weather events more common and ecosystems under major pressure.
9. By 2100, we're likely to end up with warming of around three degrees Celsius.
10. Despite the lack of climate policies and ongoing lobbying and misinformation campaigns from the fossil fuel industries, there has been a lot of progress.
11. Greenhouse gas emissions have grown by 24 percent in the last decade.
12. Subsidies for fossil fuels aimed at promoting economic growth have caused a colossal increase in their consumption.
13. The shift towards renewable energy has been significant. Wind energy has become three times cheaper, and solar electricity is now 10 times cheaper than coal or any other fossil fuel.
14. Rapidly replacing old incandescent light bulbs with LEDs that are 10 times more efficient.
15. In 2020, about seven out of ten new cars in Norway were electric or hybrid.
16. Emissions in the Czech Republic dropped 13 percent while their GDP grew by 27 percent.
17. In 2022, carbon capture technology exists and costs around 600 to remove one tonne of CO2 from the atmosphere.
18. The situation is still dire and serious, but there are positive trends and evidence that change is possible.
19. The public debate about rapid climate change action is now in phase four, where climate change is no longer avoidable.
20. Changes to our industrial system are gaining momentum, technology is getting better and cheaper, and climate change has become a key issue in most free elections.
21. Most governments, both democratic and autocratic, have set their own net zero goals.
22. The pressure needs to keep increasing to make sure that the promises made today are actually kept.
23. Climate dumerism is the equivalent of giving up even though you can still prevent not just the worst case but also mitigate most of the bad things.
24. If the last in many ways wasted decade has shown anything then it's that progress is being made and the dire scenarios are just predictions not our sealed fate.
25. The first 200 people to use the link get 20 percent off their annual membership which unlocks all of brilliant's courses in maths, science, and computer science.