"They also told us twenty years ago that action taken then would have prevented the bulk of the +1.5C rise but we collectively chose to not take that advice. "
This is a western-centric position that fails to acknowledge the intractable nexus between economic growth and impact on the environment, especially during the early stages of economic development.
CO2 emissions over the past 20 years rose by 12.3 bn tonnes.
The biggest increase in emissions over that 20 year period came from the following countries (in decreasing order):
China (7.6 bn tonne increase)
India (+1.6 bn t)
Iran (+376 mt)
Saudi Arabia (+361 mt)
Indonesia (+263 mt)
Vietnam (+216 mt)
South Korea (+212 mt)
International Aviation (+209 mt)
International Shipping (+199 mt)
Turkey (+190 mt)
Kazakhstan (+183 mt)
Russia (+ 149 mt)
Brazil (+136 mt)
South Africa (+132 mt)
Egypt (+125 mt)
Malaysia (+124mt)
Thailand (+ 110 mt)
Iraq (+102 mt)
Mexico (+100 mt)
Overwhelmingly, there is causal relationship between energy consumption (i.e., resulting in increasing emissions over the past 20 years) and economic development.
Not sure what alternative path of history could possibly have occurred under the prevailing circumstances.
The international community moving to prevent industrialisation and modernisation of developing economies?
