The 1.5C global heating target was a dream — its demise doesn’t signal doom for climate action

Missing a target doesn’t mean the sense of emergency should fade. What it must do is stop politicians from dithering — and it needs to act fast

What the 1.5C target taught the policymakers was that they can’t do their usual dithering. This is an emergency — and the sense of emergency hasn’t faded with the passing of a target.

I remember the first time I heard the 1.5C target. 

It was in a room at the Copenhagen climate talks in 2009. With the expectation of a binding agreement slipping away and negotiations failing, some of us activists joined delegates from vulnerable African and island nations in chanting “1.5 to stay alive”.