“The world has neve been more prepared to deal with extreme events and has never done better than in this era right now,” said longtime climate policy researcher Roger A. Pielke, Jr., in our Sustain What conversation today.
This is objectively true, whether you explore data from the World Meteorological Organization or fellow Substacker
. But you’d never know it if you only listened to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres or President Joe Biden’s outgoing clmate envoy and incoming campaign aide John Kerry, who just yesterday at Davos said 2023 was the worst year ever for climate disasters.That’s precisely why I’ve cited Pielke regularly since my first story quoting him, back in 2001 as President George W. Bush began devleoping his climate policies, and why I highly recommend you subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
Despite his remarkable track record publishing peer-reviewed work illuminating the full suite of forces driving disaster losses from climate hazards (and on a host of other science/policy fronts), Pielke has been shunned by far too many journalists and actively attacked by supposed progressives driven by their focus on carbon dioxide emissions.
That’s why I referred to him back in 2012 as the climate equivalent of Lord Voldemort - he who shall not be named.
I encourage you to listen, no matter what your predispositions may be. You can sift the transcript at the button generated in this post. I’ll add more highlights here as time allows. Here are some takeaways:
