It’s looking more and more likely that history will remember 2014 as a crossroads on climate change.

In March, the world’s leading climate scientists told the world that there’s simply no more time left to waste: nations must act quickly, decisively, and cooperatively if we want a decent shot at averting the worst effects of a warming planet. It wasn’t the first time that the scientific community delivered their warning, but it could be the last. The next report won’t arrive until the next decade, when we may already have passed critical tipping points.

It’s in this context that the EU is currently debating the toughest climate targets in history, among them a 40% cut in carbon emissions by 2030. What those targets look like in the end – and the steps policymakers lay out to reach them – carry profound implications for our own future and for generations to come.

Which means we need to get creative. There’s no doubt that more renewables and stronger emissions standards will form the backbone of any climate framework going forward. But putting all our efforts into just those mandates, which primarily focus on a few large stakeholders such as manufacturers and power plants, would ignore what’s shaping up to be the 21st century’s most powerful energy resource: all of us.

The complete article is on the website www.theguardian.com