This halfway point to 2050 offers a stark reckoning. We've burned through a quarter century in what feels like a blink. Now, we’re left with the same span in which we had vowed to accomplish what may be the most dramatic economic and social transformation in human history. Twenty-five years to rewire our energy systems, reimagine our cities, and restructure our relationship with the planet.

The drop in public priority is grossly out of sync with the worsening reality of climate change. The past years have seen a marked jump in global heating and most people are blithely unaware of the latest string of spine-chilling scientific observations. But climate activists stubbornly refuse to look away.

Danielle Smith blurted out that “we’ve got the lowest living standards in the world," in a clear case of misspeaking. But what did she really mean?

The decarbonized doublespeak may not be new but it was jarring coming from the mouth of our new PM, who has an undeniable grasp of the impacts of hydrocarbons but nevertheless talked about “decarbonized barrels” at the press conference following the first ministers’ meeting

Only seven years ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projected the world wouldn’t heat beyond 1.5 C until the 2040s. Two years ago, the IPCC authors shifted the projection to the mid-2030s. Now, we’re on the doorstep.

It’s hard to imagine a more terrifying and excruciating way to die — trapped by wildfire as the flames close in. Richard and Sue Nowell were killed this week by the Manitoba wildfires, leaving two sons orphaned and homeless. The deaths turned “an emergency into a tragedy,” said Premier Wab Kinew.

Canadians are demanding new homes but buildings are already the third-largest source of fossil fuel pollution in Canada and cutting those emissions has proven miserably difficult. New buildings last for decades, so Carney's government needs a housing plan that comes with some conditions. Photo by Saskatchewan Conservation House

Danielle Smith's agitations and the insatiable fossil fuel industry's demands will make climate action difficult, but Canada's new prime minister brings the right qualifications — and will have plenty of help in the House.

Whether it’s the loss of tropical reefs or ice, towns or forests, it all comes back to the burning of oil, gas and coal.

The populist right might be hoping to cancel climate change by vilifying words and cutting funding. But the planet is unmoved by narrative battles and culture wars, as we found out this week from some of the world’s leading climate scientists.