1At the climate summit, delegates from nearly every nation promised to reach net zero emissions.
2Net zero means that any greenhouse gases we release must be balanced by gases we remove.
3For wealthy countries, this promise implies a complete transformation of their transport, industry, and farming systems.
4Coal power stations must close, and electric vehicles must replace petrol cars within a generation.
5Homes will need better insulation, while offices will draw their power from wind and sunlight.
6Developing nations rightly ask who will pay for such enormous and rapid changes to their economies.
7Richer governments have offered funds, although the actual amounts fall far short of what was pledged.
8Meanwhile, ordinary citizens are slowly changing their daily habits, eating less meat and flying less often.
9Technology alone cannot save us unless governments and ordinary people act together with real urgency.
10The next decade will decide whether these promises become binding laws or remain empty words.
11History will judge our generation by the difficult choices we make in these coming years.