Tackling Climate Change Without the U.S.

This years U.N. climate talks are being held in Brazil. So far, theyve been noteworthy for who isnt attending. Im the host of The World. This week, leaders from around the world are meeting at the edge of the Amazon in Belem, Brazil, for their annual climate talks. The guest list is a little thin. The leaders of China, Russia and Japan wont be there. Neither will the leaders of Australia, Indonesia or Turkey. But the most notable absence is that of the United States. For the first time since countries began gathering 30 years ago to take action against global warming, the U.S. is not sending any top officials. The premise of these gatherings is that climate change knows no borders and can be stopped only if countries come together. Can the world do it without the U.S.? Ten years ago in Paris, almost every country in the world agreed to a common goal: to hold the average global temperature rise to well below two degrees Celsius, and preferably closer to 1.5 degrees, compared with preindustrial levels. The good-ish news: Slower emissions growth means the arc of temperature increase has curved downward over the past 10 years. If countries stick to current policies, the global average temperature is projected to rise by 2.5 to 2.9 degrees Celsius by the end of the century still bad, but a significant improvement from where we were 10 years ago. on the climate front in the last decade. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and your Times account, or for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? . Want all of The Times? .