While the New York Times editorial board says, “The Paris [climate summit] may well be the world’s last, best chance to get a grip on a problem that, absent urgent action over the next decade, could spin out of control”, most are already bracing for another massive failure by the political elite at what is being disparagingly described as the “Conference of Polluters”.

This is a reality is because the pledges being made by countries in advance of the COP21 in Paris are simply insufficient. Open Democracy has reported, “Cambridge University number cruncher Chris Hope concluded that if the European Union countries cut emissions by 40 percent by 2030 (as they have pledged), if the rest of the developed countries follow the U.S. commitment, and if the developing countries follow China’s promise, the most likely result will be a [disastrous] global temperature rise of 3.6 degrees Celsius in 2100.” As for Canada, the Harper government pledged an extremely weak 30 per cent reduction below 2005 levels by 2030 (which equals 14 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030).

In addition to this, Patrick Bond laments, “There are no reliable state allies of climate justice at present and indeed there really are no high-profile progressives working within the COPs. It’s a huge problem for UN reformers because it leaves them without a policy jam-maker inside to accompany activist tree-shaking outside. The UN head of the COP process is an oft-compromised carbon trader, Christiana Figueres. Although once there were heroic delegates badgering the COP process, they are all gone now… If you are serious about climate justice, the message from these COP experiences is unmistakeable: going inside is suicide.”

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But Bond writes there is hope in grassroots mobilization. He says, “A great deal of coalition building has occurred in France and indeed across Europe [since last August]. The proximate goal is to use awareness of the Paris COP21 to generate events around the world in national capitals on November 28 and 29 – just before the summit begins – and on December 12, as it climaxes. …Projects [are being planned] like November 27-29 mass actions aimed at municipalities; a Brussels-Paris activist train; …the Alternatiba alternatives project with 200 participating villages from the Basque country up to Brussels, which will culminate on September 26-27…”