We need radical systems change immediately to halt climate change at 1.5 Celsius, a Green new deal provides an outline for action that we need to take

• We need to take radically and immediately in order to halt climate change to 1.5 Celsius, by halting climate change to 1.5 we can reduce the impacts of climate change. Failure to immediately act will result in an increase of 2 degrees or more which will have a much larger magnitude of negative impacts than the already devastating inevitable 1.5 degrees
• In order to enact sufficient change we must role out a whole systems change, a [Green new deal] provides outline for climate action by also tackling structural inequality implicated in the climate crisis, a Green new deal would tackle the climate crisis and structural inequality simultaneously
• Must be at a international policy and systems change level, although individual action should be encouraged it is not at all enough and we must invoke systems change immediately for survival (eg. Just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions
• Arguments that the green new deal are too expensive are flawed by the fact that we can't afford not to act, the impacts of climate change far outweigh the cost of climate action

The majority of countries in the world have made at least some commitments to tackling climate change, although research suggests that this may not be enough.

For context, let’s have a look at previous world efforts to tackle climate change:

• The Paris Agreement 2015: The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty with 191 signatories. Its main goal is to prevent the Earth’s average temperature from increasing by 2 degrees Celsius, in comparison to pre-industrial levels. States must try to keep the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as well as work towards a global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible.

• The UK’s Climate Change Act 2008: The Climate Change Act 2008 initially committed the UK to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. In 2019, this Act was amended to achieving net zero emissions.

• Legal disputes in Australia: In 2021, the Federal Court of Australia declared that the country’s Environment Minister has a “duty to take reasonable care” that young people won’t be harmed or killed by carbon dioxide emissions if a coalmine expansion is approved.

Despite these efforts, UN research suggests that the world is still on track for more than a 3 degree increase in the global temperature, which will have devastating consequences.