Let’s begin with a fact: The climate crisis is here, and human beings have caused it. It’s a statement made with no hyperbole, and no relish, knowing that dithering governments and malevolent corporate forces, combined with our collective disregard and apathy, have delivered us to this point.

We may have avoided some of the catastrophic impacts of global heating had we acted on the scientific evidence that’s been available for decades. And transitioning to a greener, healthier world would certainly have been less disruptive and more just had we acted years ago.

But here we are. The only question is what to do with the time - and yes, there is still time - to alter course.

While the oil and gas industry and their allies are unscrupulous in slick ad campaigns for save-all climate ‘cures’ of still-nascent technology, the fact remains that planet-cooking, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise to dangerous levels from the burning of fossil fuels.

Our food systems need to be revolutionized; so do transport, energy, buildings. Name anything - and it’s highly likely that climate impacts have changed how it’s long looked, or how it has always been done.

If all that feels bleak, that’s understandable: The climate crisis is big, multifaceted and easily overwhelming. But the immutable fact is that we all have a stake - whether we admit it or not - in the problems, and more importantly, the solutions.

At The Independent we hope that our climate newsletter - which is still free, and has undergone a nifty new redesign - can be part of guiding you through.

Since we started more than a year ago, we’ve brought the most urgent stories but also news from off-the-beaten path, and ideas that hopefully have helped inspire. Thanks for being with us.

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