After tense negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in December, the world finally has a deal that, although not perfect, for the first time allows us to be optimistic that we will decelerate the pace of climate change.
For those of us who have been working towards this for nearly two decades, it has been a moment of quiet celebration and relief. Clearly, however, we cannot become complacent, nor pin all our hopes on the accord. Importantly, the Paris agreement paid relatively scant attention to the need for more investment in resilience building to help communities, cities and countries manage the consequences of climate change that is already underway.
