Sublime

mitigation and adaptation that I’m supporting).

And even countries without a carbon tax can make it clear that they won’t make trade agreements and enter multilateral partnerships with anyone who hasn’t made it a priority to reduce greenhouse gases and adopted the policies to accomplish it

for more than three-quarters of the world’s economy. As they expand, many of the world’s fast-growing cities end up building over floodplains, forests, and wetlands that could absorb rising waters during a storm or hold reservoirs of water during a drought.

Once these goals are set, forums like the COP 21 are where countries get together to report on their progress and share what’s working. And they serve as a mechanism for pressing national governments to do their part. When the world’s governments agree that there’s value in reducing emissions, it becomes harder—though far from impossible, as we hav

May is Brazilian and has been an activist since the late ’80s. She is a co-founder of the Global Ecovillage Network and Gaia Education, and directs the United Nations training centre CIFAL Scotland. She has been repeatedly listed as one of the top 100 global sustainability leaders