Emeritus Prof John Drummond laid bare this sobering reality to the Seniors Climate Action Network in Dunedin on Monday. Conducting a "climate change stocktake" Prof Drummond reviewed the decades since a US climatologist first awakened the public to a warming planet. "This was the start of the spread of awareness about climate change beyond the scientific community," Prof Drummond said. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was formed and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol set legally binding targets to cut emissions. Despite the 2015 Paris Agreement, the recent 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) made no commitment to transition away from fossil fuels.
