Lucian Haas on unstoppable climate change

Forest fires are spreading quickly in Russia due to the unusually hot summer. In Pakistan, thermometers hit 53 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature ever recorded in Asia, just before the country was hit by the most massive floods in its history. Writing in the weekly Rheinischer Merkur, Lucian Haas says the cause is the inability of people to agree on a climate policy: "It's no longer possible to stop climate change. The political train got stuck at the station and has been sidelined since the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. At the end of last week, there was further hopelessness and helplessness during preparations in Bonn for the rescue summit planned for December in Cancun. There is not likely to be a solution on this track any more. It is more important than ever for people to note: They are powerless against the forces of nature. They must adapt to new circumstances. If they do not they will perish, and not only in places where huge floods or fires rage. ... Unfortunately, the climate policy failure makes it clear that humanity does not always have the wisdom to act on its accumulated knowledge. We are closer to the climate hell than we think."

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