Political Tipping Point

The US presidential election across the pond is only one week away! Climate change had never featured this much in a presidential election before. From asserting that climate change is the biggest threat to national security by Bernie Sanders to outright rejection of climate science by Donald Trump, it is fair to say that the next decade of global environmental cooperation depends on this historic election.

I came across an open letter sent by >300 scientists and 30 Nobel laureates warning of the serious risks of climate change and the consequences of opting out of international climate cooperation. The letter highlights the consensus in the presence of climate tipping points and the risks of inaction. 

"We know that the climate system has tipping points. Our proximity to these tipping points is uncertain. We know, however, that rapid warming of the planet increases the risk of crossing climatic points of no return"

Just like the climate system, 'the political system also has tipping points'. Handing over power to a president who believes climate change is an invented hoax and a vice president who have received large amounts of his campaign money from donors in the fossil fuel industry would represent a political tipping point where global environmental cooperation are undermined and downplays the urgency of impending climate crisis.