In Conversation with Bill McKibben

The Climate Emergency Forum welcomes Bill McKibben in a discussion on the urgency of addressing climate change, noting that the past year has seen record-breaking high temperatures, with 2023 and 2024 being the hottest on record in at least 125,000 years.

This video was recorded on March 20th, 2024, and published on March 31st, 2024.

The dialogue features Paul Beckwith, Peter Carter and Charles Gregoire. McKibben emphasizes that the world is now in a climate emergency, with the 1.5°C temperature goal from the Paris Agreement already breached.

McKibben highlights that the key solution lies in rapidly transitioning to renewable energy, as it is now the cheapest form of power generation. However, he criticizes the fossil fuel industry for continuing to deny and delay this transition through various excuses. To overcome this, McKibben says the focus must be on changing the political balance of power, which is why he has founded the “Third Act” movement to organize older Americans to support the climate action efforts of younger generations.

McKibben praises the work of young climate activists, but argues that they need the backing of older, more politically and financially powerful individuals to truly drive the necessary changes. He advocates for strategies like targeting the expansion of liquefied natural gas exports, as well as leveraging the skills and resources of the older generation to complement the energy and idealism of the youth climate movement.

Links:

• Bill McKibben’s website

• Third Act

• 350.org

• The End of Nature

• Canada on Fire (CEF Video)

• Rocking Chair Rebellion’ of Senior Citizens Joins Climate Protest

• How older climate activists helped win the fight over LNG exports

• The door to B.C.’s liquefied natural gas export sector is about to open. Here’s what you need to know.

• Tzeporah Berman (wikipedia)

• Metta Spencer (wikipedia)

• Science for Peace

• Metta Spencer’s website

Special Guest:

• Bill McKibben - is an American environmentalist, author, and journalist who has written extensively on the impact of global warming. He is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College and the founder of the climate campaign group 350.org and Thirdact.org. He has authored 20 books about the environment, including his first, The End of Nature (1989), about climate change, and Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? (2019), about the state of the environmental challenges facing humanity and future prospects.

Regular Panelists:

• Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer and the director of the Climate Emergency Institute

• Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University

• Charles Gregoire - Electrical Engineer, Webmaster and IT prime for FacingFuture.Earth & the Climate Emergency Forum; Climate Reality Leader

Video Production:

• Heidi Brault - Climate Reality Leader, BA(Psychology), Library & Information Technician Diploma - Video production and website assistant - Organizer and convener, Metadata technician, COP28 Team Lead for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum.

Attributions:

Background Music:

• Title: Through the City II
• Author: Crowander
• Source: Free Music Archive
• License: BY-NC 4.0

Image and Video:

• Image and Video Attributions