Three decades of climate mitigation: Why haven’t we bent the global emissions curve?

Despite three decades of political efforts and a growing body of research on the causes and potentially catastrophic impacts of climate change, global carbon dioxide emissions have continued to rise and are 60% higher today than they were in 1990. Drawing on research across the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities, nine thematic ‘lenses’ are formulated that explore possible reasons for this ongoing failure to bend the global emissions curve. The role of power, vested interests, narrow techno-economic mindsets and a neglect of equity emerge as key impediments across the reviewed literature. Topics covered include international climate governance, energy-systems, geopolitics, militarism, the fossil fuel industry, economics, financialization, mitigation modelling, inequity, high-carbon lifestyles and dominant social imaginaries. Delivering on the commitments enshrined in the Paris Agreement now requires a rapid and unprecedented transformation away from the dominant development paradigm and its carbon and energy-intensive incumbencies.