The Climate Diplomat by Peter Betts review the most important person you've never heard of

"When it comes to the climate, Peter Betts is one of the most important people you've probably never heard of. If the world does manage to avoid the worst ravages of global heating, it will be thanks in part to the countless late nights he spent in windowless rooms, arguing over the placement of commas in impenetrable legal text. Betts would probably have disagreed."

"Thirty-odd years of climate talks, with global conference of the party (Cop) summits almost yearly since 1992, and where are we? Greenhouse gas emissions are still rising, temperatures are breaking records in the last two years the global average has for the first time exceeded the vitally important threshold of 1.5C above preindustrial levels and we are fast approaching what scientists warn could be points of no return. No wonder Greta Thunberg slammed the negotiations as blah, blah, blah."

Peter Betts led UK climate negotiations and the EU team on the 2015 Paris Agreement, working behind the scenes with meticulous legal attention. He preferred low-profile, unpretentious negotiation and spent long hours refining treaty language and punctuation. Global climate talks have continued almost annually since 1992, yet greenhouse gas emissions keep rising and recent years have seen the global average temperature exceed 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. Scientists warn of approaching tipping points. Before Paris, projections pointed toward about 5°C warming by century's end; if all Paris commitments are met, projected warming falls to roughly 2.7°C, still dangerously above safe limits.

Read at www.theguardian.com