Erik Solheim

On my way to climate talks: Can the World Turn Climate Commitments into Action?

In this episode of The Prode I discuss the climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye 🇹🇷 starting today.

We discuss the key priorities: Climate finance, climate justice, energy security, the transition away from fossil fuels, and the challenges facing developing countries.

Climate talks are important - but action in politics and the markets matter more.

What makes me optimistic is the surge in climate action in the Global South!

Watch the full conversation: lnkd.in/eJpsgfij

Incredible India 🇮🇳!

Hornbills are calling !

Somewhere in the Anamalai landscape in Tamil Nadu there is a precious stronghold for these iconic birds, whose future rests in the great old trees in the last remaining rainforests.

Thanks @dhanu_paran and @supriyasahuias

🔥 Kimmel put together a montage of Trump’s TOP 10 broken promises. 😂

Surprise, surprise - American voters didn’t like this!

Climate talks starts in Türkiye 🇹🇷 this week. Here are four reasons for optimism.

I am on my way to the climate conference in Antalya, starting Monday. Ministers, business leaders and activists from across the globe will meet to take climate action forward.

Talks will be focused on energy - the Strait of Hormuz crisis makes every nation desperate to increase energy independence. That means a huge surge in renewables - solar, wind, hydro and more.

The diplomatic negotiation will not bring major breakthroughs, but here are four big reasons for optimism.

USA 🇺🇸
Midterm election makes it likely US will come back to the table in two years. And even under President Trump nearly all new electricity in America is clean. Of the 86 gigawatts developers plan to add this year, more than nine in ten are solar, batteries and wind. US walked out of climate talks twice. It cannot walk out of economics. But talks are stronger with America in them  - and chances are good for 2028.

BRAZIL 🇧🇷
President Lula was reelected with comfortable margin in second round of the Brazilian election. His policies has brought a deep dive in deforestation. Amazon is the most important of all important ecosystems. With Lula at the helm Brazilian Amazon is safe for now. Such a relief for Mother Earth!

INDIA 🇮🇳
India is becoming the world’s second largest solar market. It is building its own factories for modules and cells. India reached its goal of half its power capacity from clean sources in 2025. Last year, for the first time, emissions in India declined, even if economic growth was 7%.

CHINA 🇨🇳
China is the indispensable nation for everything green. It hosts the largest national park system, it is the most successful tree planter and it just implemented the best ecological legislation. Last year China added more than 300 gigawatts of solar, more than any other nation has built in its entire history. It added around 120 gigawatts of wind, as much as the whole power grid of the United Kingdom, or of Türkiye, this year's host. Electric cars, batteries and solar panels stand at the centre of the Chinese economy and China is between 60 and 95 % of all green technologies.

Peace is good politics! The wonderful lesson from US midterm elections ❤️!

It’s hard to underestimate the shift! This year peace was a vote winner in America.

All previous US 🇺🇸 wars were hugely popular in the early days. The war with Iran is the first US war since 1945, probably ever, which isn’t supported from the start.

The Tonkin resolution authorizing the massive deployment of US troops in Vietnam was carried by 416 - 0 in the House of Representatives.

70% of Americans supported the war in Korea in 1950. 93% were later in favor of the war in Afghanistan and 75% wanted the US to attack Iraq.

Historically peace was bad politics in the US. There was votes to be won on being hawkish, not by looking weak. This is why US foreign policy for eighty years has been extremely aggressive - bloody wars, military coups abroad and regime change operations.

Few political changes will contribute more to a safer planet than if peace becomes good politics in the US. How hopeful!

If you want to understand more - this brilliant book about the Cold War shows that US domestic politics always was the main factor driving US aggressive impulses:
lnkd.in/gZexMWf8