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With Democrats promising big things on climate change, remember that C02 is already at 417ppm, and emissions are likely to accelerate again post-Covid. So realistically, here are three things the US climate agenda will probably have to include, beyond cutting emissions: (1/x)
First, more managed retreat. Nobody in federal or state government is keen to talk about this, but with more climate change baked in and disaster costs rising quickly, the need to move communities out of harm's way will only increase. (2/x) http://nytimes.com/2020/08/26/climate/flooding-relocation-managed-retreat.html
Second, engineered carbon removal. Many climate activists view this as an excuse to keep emitting, but as @bradplumer and I wrote yesterday, it's hard to see how society avoids dangerous levels of warming without pulling C02 from the air. (3/x) http://nytimes.com/2021/01/18/climate/carbon-removal-technology.html
Third, figuring out how to make solar geoengineering work. As I wrote in October, nobody wants to do this -- but a growing number of researchers fear we might not have a choice, so they're rushing to nail the science before it's needed. (4/x) http://nytimes.com/2020/10/28/climate/climate-change-geoengineering.html
None of those things -- managed retreat, carbon removal, geoengineering -- are going to win much support from climate activists. But we're past the point of relying on comfortable solutions alone, and Biden's team must know that. It's going to be an interesting four years. (5/5)
