With Paris behind us, we must look to building a better world

-      Robert McLean

The Paris battle has been won, but the “war”, the bid to convince the world community that its behaviour is flawed and foreign to its needs, is still undecided.

However, what happened in Paris illustrates the world community is at least on the correct trajectory and appears united in the view that only action from all will give humanity any chance of avoiding the worst of a disrupted climate system.

A new mindset has momentarily swept across the globe and the warmth emanating from the Paris decision has the world in its thrall, but as yet little has been heard from the doubters, skeptics and the political powerful moneyed men enrichened through the fossil fuel industry and the plethora of industries it has spawned.

The achievements of those who gathered in Paris warrants applause and from those triumphs we should be encouraged and venture more daringly into the climate change conversation, challenging those who question the science and continue to behave in ways that aggravate and further worsen the world’s climate system.

Danger waits if we wallow too long in the warmth of the Paris success and a sense of nervousness quickly arises when Australian Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, says “Our job is done”.

Hopefully, she was suggesting it is done “for now” and as people returned to their respective countries, the enthusiasm and commitment illustrated in Paris would continue with renewed vigour.

“Danger waits if we wallow too long in the warmth of the Paris success”

Success in Paris is really just the first stanza of a never-ending tune that will be subjected to ongoing additions that will emerge as the world community better understands that it is our commitment to consumerism, extraction of the earth’s finite resources and our addiction to a flawed world economic system and, within that, a pervasive and vulgar bent for resolving our differences through confrontation.

Climate change evolved through ignorance, but arrogance and a misplaced sense of superiority over nature has allowed it to reach its present parlous state, but now having stood on Paris podium declaring success and along with that, acknowledging the causes and reasons of climate change, we are no longer ignorant and so must re-engage in conversation about how and when we restructure our behaviours to ensure the preservation of conditions here on earth to allow humans to thrive and within that live contented and fulfilled lives.