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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Fiona Harvey Environment editor

‘Grownup’ leaders are pushing us towards catastrophe, says former US climate chief

Emissions from three industrial chimneys
The belief that the climate community is calling for an unrealistic rate of decarbonisation is slowing climate progress, according to former US envoy Todd Stern. Photograph: Martin Meissner/AP

Political leaders who present themselves as “grownups” while slowing the pace of climate action are pushing the world towards deeper catastrophe, a former US climate chief has warned.

“We are slowed down by those who think of themselves as grownups and believe decarbonisation at the speed the climate community calls for is unrealistic,” said Todd Stern, who served as a special envoy for climate change under Barack Obama, and helped negotiate the 2015 Paris agreement.

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