Reasons for (cautious) optimism: the good news on the climate crisis

Every fraction of a degree of global heating avoided makes a difference. Here are some reasons for hope

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There is no shortage of things to say about what's going wrong. The extent of damage caused at 1.2C of global heating since pre-industrial levels is proving greater than was forecast by climate scientists not that long ago.

As discussed last week, the disastrous toll of the historic flooding in Pakistan and heatwaves and droughts across the northern hemisphere summer appear signs of escalation. A peer-reviewed study found several disastrous climate tipping points, including the collapse of Greenland's ice cap and Gulf Stream currents in the Atlantic Ocean, may now be unavoidable.

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