Search
AI-powered search, human-powered content.
scroll to top arrow or icon

Why you should be (skeptically) optimistic about climate change

Why you should be (skeptically) optimistic about climate change

Gerald Butts, Vice Chairman & Senior Advisor of Eurasia Group, discusses reasons the rapid global response to climate change warrants optimism on UNGA In 60 Seconds.

There's a lot of doom and gloom out there about climate change. Can you give me a reason to be optimistic?

I'm going to say something you don't hear set very often when it comes to climate change. You should be an optimist. You should be a skeptical optimist, but an optimist nonetheless. Let me explain what I mean. We are scaling up climate solutions faster than even the most ardent among us thought possible a decade ago. Consider this. In 2010, about half of US electricity was generated from coal. This year less than 20% will be, and it's trending towards zero at increasing velocity.


Yesterday, just yesterday, Xi Jinping announced at UNGA that China's emissions will peak this decade, and he set an economy-wide net zero target for the middle of the century. And this afternoon, yes, just this afternoon before recording this segment, California Governor Gavin Newsome said the state will outlaw the internal combustion engine by 2035. All of this is happening against the backdrop of the European Green Deal, making a truly historic investment in clean growth, and a presidential nominee running on a climate plan that would have been unthinkable one election cycle ago. And that's just the politics. On the market side, ESG investing is more than holding its own against traditional vehicles, and the cost of renewable energy is truly competitive with thermal fossil, almost everywhere in the world, about a decade sooner than conventional wisdom, expected it to be. In short, things are changing, and fast.

But more than any of these trends, I'm optimistic because the demographics are finally on the side of climate action. Countries, global institutions, and firms are increasingly being led by a generation of people who will live through the harsh reality of the climate change era. They've seen the future, and they don't like it. None of this is to say the change is going to be easy or that it's going to happen automatically. These big changes that I've been talking about... They need to get bigger, and they need to happen faster, but there's too much doom-saying out there about climate change. There is hope, you should be skeptical, and you should always, always read the fine print, but there's lots of reasons to be hopeful. I'm Gerald Butts, and this has been UNGA in 60 Seconds.

More from Global Stage

Can we use AI to secure the world's digital future?

Can we use AI to secure the world's digital future?

How do we ensure AI is safe, available to everyone, and enhancing productivity? It’s a big topic at this year’s UN General Assembly. That’s why GZERO’s Global Stage livestream brought together leading experts at the heart of the action for “Live from the United Nations: Securing our Digital Future,” an event produced in partnership between the Complex Risk Analytics Fund, or CRAF’d, and GZERO Media’s Global Stage series, sponsored by Microsoft.

For AI access for all, investment is the key, says Microsoft's Brad Smith

For AI access for all, investment is the key, says Microsoft's Brad Smith

AI has immense potential, but guardrails alone won’t ensure its benefits reach everyone. According to Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, policies must ensure AI is safe and secure, but equitable access requires more—investment. Just as electricity took over a century to reach parts of the world, Mr. Smith says AI’s widespread adoption depends on economic strategies that go beyond values. It's a balance of ethics and action to ensure AI’s benefits are felt globally.

How the UN is combating disinformation in the age of AI

How the UN is combating disinformation in the age of AI

Disinformation is running rampant in today’s world. The internet, social media, and AI — combined with declining trust in major institutions — have created an ecosystem ripe for exploitation by nefarious actors aiming to spread false and hateful narratives. Meanwhile, governments worldwide are struggling to get big tech companies to take substantive steps to combat disinformation. And at the global level, the UN’s priorities are also being hit hard by these trends.

How to protect elections in the age of AI

How to protect elections in the age of AI

GZERO Media, on the ground at the 2024 Munich Security Conference, held a Global Stage discussion on Feb. 17 entitled “Protecting Elections in the Age of AI.” We spoke with Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft; Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media; Fiona Hill, senior fellow for the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings; Eva Maydell, an EU parliamentarian and a lead negotiator of the EU Chips Act and Artificial Intelligence Act; Kersti Kaljulaid, the former president of Estonia; with European correspondent Maria Tadeo moderating. These thought leaders and experts discussed the implications of the rapid rise of AI amid this historic election year.

The future women want

The future women want

What issues matter most to women and girls around the world? The United Nations wanted to understand how women all over the globe feel about the future and what they’d like to see for the next generation. The UN's We the Women campaign includes an ambitious survey of 25,000 women in 185 countries and a report on the priorities of women worldwide. GZERO’s Tony Maciulis spoke with Annemarie Hou, Executive Director of the UN Office for Partnerships, which conducted the campaign, to learn more.

UN Security Council: Liberia’s top diplomat joins calls for Africa’s representation

UN Security Council: Liberia’s top diplomat joins calls for Africa’s representation

Will Africa's push for permanent representation on the UN Security Council succeed? Liberia’s Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti echoed the region’s calls for reform, challenging the council’s control by wealthy nations, in an interview with GZERO at the SDG Media Zone during the 79th UN General Assembly in New York City.