New Hope

Al Gore doesn't sugarcoat the impacts of climate change (economist Nicholas Stern says that current models "grossly underestimate" the damage from unmitigated warming).  And Gore is a fan of democratic capitalism, yet recognizes that democracy has been hacked by corporate "persons" who use vast financial resources as "free speech" to influence policy.  He acknowledges that unaccounted external costs and growing inequality are major failures of market capitalism.

But Gore seeks to combat the pessimism.  He says there needs to be a price on carbon and a political cost for denialism.  He notes that the renewable energy sector is booming and lauds President Obama's initiatives. But there still needs to be international agreement.  Gore sees momentum for decarbonizing the economy and notes that piecemeal efforts around the world build pressure for a broader agreement.

Gore knows damage has been done.  He insists that there is time to avoid the worst.  Maybe the quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. is over the top, but is the urgency any less?

Update (June 20):  James Murray also writes about the risks of climate change and energy security.  He refers to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy to point out that carbon dioxide emissions are back up and that BP expects emissions to rise by 29 percent by 2035.  Further, fossil fuels are still overwhelmingly dominant.

Murray also calls for a big push in renewable energy.  Oil production hasn't moved very much despite real prices at the highest level since the 1860s.