A quick primer on the 4 biggest recent developments in global climate change:

1) The 2015 Paris Agreement — Representatives of 195 nations reached an agreement that for the first time commits all to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, the culmination of 9 years of effort and including countries like India and China for the first time.

2) China established emissions goals and moves to beat them — The world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases submitted a program in June that includes plans to get to peak CO2 emissions by 2030 at the latest and later announced plans to introduce a cap-and-trade emissions system by 2017, suggesting ambitions to potentially beat that target.

3) The cost of producing energy via renewables has fallen dramatically — The costs of solar and wind technologies have declined by about a third since 2010, according to IHS Energy, a research and advisory firm. The numbers vary by study and region, but most agree that solar and wind are dramatically closer to being cost competitive with fossil fuels. A recent Bloomberg New Energy Finance study of 55,000 projects around the world suggested that wind and solar cost $80 and $120, respectively, per megawatt-hour, which compares to $75 per mega-watt hour for coal in the Americas and $105 per megawatt-hour in Europe.

4) Corporate action — Eighty-one major corporations with operations in the U.S. (including Google, Facebook, Apple, Coca Cola and General Motors) took a White House pledge “to demonstrate their support for action on climate change and the conclusion of a climate change agreement in Paris that takes a strong step forward toward a low-carbon, sustainable future.” Significantly, many of these companies also committed to science-based targets, with more tangible criteria and standards, including:

· Reducing emissions by as much as 50 percent

· Reducing water usage by as much as 80 percent

· Achieving zero waste-to-landfill

· Purchasing 100 percent renewable energy

· Pursuing zero net deforestation in supply chains.

Clearly, momentum is picking up, but there is more to do. Go to www.theclimatemobilization.org?utm_source=M_H to learn more