The Paris Agreement: the best chance we have to save the one planet we've got

In heralding the adoption of the Paris agreement, President Barack Obama said this agreement sends a powerful signal that the world is firmly committed to a low-carbon future. And that has the potential to unleash investment and innovation in clean energy at a scale we have never seen before.



How did it come into being? What does it mean for the economies of industrial nations? What are its chances of Senate ratification? What will be its effects on the stock market, on jobs, and on future elections?



The adoption of The Paris Agreement by 195 countries on December 12, 2015 marks the end of the era of fossil fuels. There is no way to meet the targets laid out in this agreement without keeping 90 percent or more of remaining coal, oil and gas in the ground. The final text still has some serious gaps, and the timetable will have to speed up, but the treaty draws a red line on atmospheric CO2 we cannot cross. As science, economics and law come into alignment, a solar-powered economy beckons.



Albert Bates has been reporting this issue for 35 years. He takes us on his personal journey in the lead-up year before the UN summit, talking to scientists and visiting forests, melting glaciers and low-lying islands. He brings us into the blue zone, where he shares the personal presentation he and colleagues made before the gathered delegates.



Bates is not afraid to puncture the myths surrounding climate science, the fossil industry, or the transition to clean energy. He sends a potent message about both the dire consequences of inaction, and the steep hill we have to climb to change our energy source. This is a book that should be in every schoolbag and board room.