A CLIMATE Action Summit held earlier this week sounded dire warnings for the world, particularly for the most vulnerable “developing countries,” if efforts toward climate mitigation and adaptation are not accelerated. As citizens of one of those “developing countries” most vulnerable to climate change, we think it is high time global leaders consider a different approach, as endlessly repeated, sympathetic rhetoric about climate action does not seem to be accomplishing much at all.

In spite of more than 20 years of global attention to the problem of climate change, the prospects for a grim future continue to grow. At present, the Earth’s environment is on track to experience average temperatures 3.7 to 4.5 degrees Celsius warmer than the pre-industrial age by the end of this century — within the lifetime of children being born now.