Bill McKibben Pins his Climate Hopes on Bernie Sanders and the United Nations

Essay by Eric Worrall

Things are getting truly desperate in climate activist land.

The climate fight has one great ally. You just can’t look at it directly

Bill McKibben
Wed 23 Sep 2026 20.00 AESTLast modified on Wed 23 Sep 2026 20.09 AEST

There is hope in solar power. As the UN meets, we are urging leaders to pursue a clear goal: clean energy for all by 2030

As climate experts from around the world gather in New York for their annual week of talking through the world’s deepest dilemma, the vibes are mostly bad.

…

… If there’s an apocalyptic fear that can still rouse politicians to action, it seems to be AI agents breaking through firewalls, not European nations facing firestorms.

But there is one solitary (and very literal) ray of sunshine amidst this gloom: the steady rise of solar, wind and batteries. …

None of it is happening fast enough to catch up with the physics of global warming, though …

That’s why a group of leading advocates will deliver a letter to the UN this week, urging faster action. The letter offers a clear goal for the entire world to rally around: clean energy access for everyone, everywhere by 2030. And a way to get there: raising funds to bring clean energy to the poorest corners of the world and organizing in our communities, including for a global Sun Day of action next year to kick off what could be the great uniting project of our time.

The signatories range from the most popular active politician in the US (that would be Bernie Sanders) to the most morally grounded spokesperson of the global south (Yeb Saño of the Philippines, say, whose witness after devastating hurricanes helped produce the Paris accords). …

…
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/23/climate-un-clean-energy-2030

Seriously Bill, the climate movement has lost – your letter urging more solar will sink without trace.

But there is still hope for the activist movement – you could follow Bernie’s lead, and fully embrace the crusade against artificial intelligence.

Bernie Sanders Proposes a “Ban Artificial Super-intelligence Act”

I mean you could work in the outsize carbon footprint of artificial intelligence, so it looks like your new AI push is related to your climate mission, to help your followers ease into your new pivot.

I’m guessing someone in your circle mentioned AI is what gets politicians excited these days. Your friends are trying to help you.

Take their advice. Don’t go down with the sinking climate activism ship. You’ve given us a lot of entertainment over the years, it would be sad to see you sink into obscurity and irrelevance, when there is still so much more for you to give.

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21 Comments

Tom Abbott

September 24, 2026 10:22 am

Does Bill McKibben still head 350.0rg?

That is the organization that was formed to keep CO2 concentrations below 350ppm, thus the name of the organization.

Well, their efforts failed. CO2 concentrations are now around 425ppm.

They should change their name to something like 500.0rg.

Scissor

Reply to Tom Abbott

September 24, 2026 10:27 am

Or something like 350.stupid

Rud Istvan

September 24, 2026 10:33 am

“the vibes are mostly bad.”
There are good reasons for the bad climate vibes.

None of the past ‘climate science’ predictions have come true, so NOT ‘science’.
The renewables ‘solutions’ have been proven ruinables.
The world’s irrational fear is moving on to AI, as Bernie himself shows.

Tom Halla

Reply to Rud Istvan

September 24, 2026 10:47 am

Most Christian millenarians would have moved on, or at least gone quiet, after the
Greens track record.

Eldrosion

Reply to Rud Istvan

September 24, 2026 10:52 am

“Climate models provide an important way to understand future changes in the Earth’s climate. In this paper we undertake a thorough evaluation of the performance of various climate models published between the early 1970s and the late 2000s. Specifically, we look at how well models project global warming in the years after they were published by comparing them to observed temperature changes. Model projections rely on two things to accurately match observations: accurate modeling of climate physics and accurate assumptions around future emissions of CO2 and other factors affecting the climate. The best physics-based model will still be inaccurate if it is driven by future changes in emissions that differ from reality. To account for this, we look at how the relationship between temperature and atmospheric CO2 (and other climate drivers) differs between models and observations. We find that climate models published over the past five decades were generally quite accurate in predicting global warming in the years after publication, particularly when accounting for differences between modeled and actual changes in atmospheric CO2 and other climate drivers. This research should help resolve public confusion around the performance of past climate modeling efforts and increases our confidence that models are accurately projecting global warming.”

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019GL085378

-11

Sparta Nova 4

Reply to Eldrosion

September 24, 2026 11:01 am

He’s back again, toting his stale, old Red Herring.

We are laughing at your idiocies.

Catnip time!

Eldrosion

Reply to Sparta Nova 4

September 24, 2026 11:59 am

Hi Sparta!

cgh

Reply to Sparta Nova 4

September 24, 2026 12:19 pm

Agreed. What I find amusing is this priceless gem.
“climate models published over the past five decades were generally quite accurate…”

Does it need to be pointed out that “generally quite accurate” is an utterly meaningless phrase? What kind of doofus takes this seriously?

SxyxS

Reply to cgh

September 24, 2026 12:33 pm

But they “maybe could be accurate” – probably.

Joseph Zorzin

Reply to cgh

September 24, 2026 12:35 pm

We can land a craft on an asteroid- based on superb science and superb engineering. Close wouldn’t be good enough.

strativarius

Reply to Eldrosion

September 24, 2026 12:21 pm

We find that climate models published over the past five decades were…

…complete garbage.

Eldrosion

Reply to strativarius

September 24, 2026 12:24 pm

I wish that were the case.

Our poor planet…

-1

Joseph Zorzin

Reply to Eldrosion

September 24, 2026 12:35 pm

Wake up- you’re in a trance! 🙂

Joseph Zorzin

Reply to Eldrosion

September 24, 2026 12:33 pm

“Model projections rely on two things to accurately match observations: accurate modeling of climate physics and accurate assumptions around future emissions of CO2 and other factors affecting the climate.”

That’s all? No problemo. /s

strativarius

September 24, 2026 10:46 am

As the UN meets, we are urging leaders to pursue a clear goal: Jam Tomorrow.

And that’s it.

Randle Dewees

September 24, 2026 10:52 am

it would be sad to see you sink into obscurity and irrelevance

Aside from the irony and sarcasm of that statement, I will be happy to not see or hear of this old anorak, ever again.

Ex-KaliforniaKook

Reply to Randle Dewees

September 24, 2026 11:37 am

It will be back, but in the interim, we’ll have to put up with a global cooling scare if the cycles of history are any indication of the future. As well as some new silly scares (like AI, robotics, and space cooties).

strativarius

September 24, 2026 12:17 pm

Wild Bill McKibben

Fire in the dumpster..,

Global warming alarmist Bill McKibben took to Twitter immediately to publicize what he believed to be proof of global warming, tweeting to Senator James Inhofe (Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, “Senator Inhofe, God may be trying to get your attention. Check out this picture.”
https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2012/8/post-e928fbb4-802a-23ad-43ed-f10460c56be2

A complete melonfarmer…

ResourceGuy

September 24, 2026 12:25 pm

Meanwhile the invasion war in Ukraine has lasted longer than WW2. Send Bernie and Bill to Moscow to end it.

Joseph Zorzin

Reply to ResourceGuy

September 24, 2026 12:38 pm

I’m sure Putin will listen to them. /s

ToldYouSo

September 24, 2026 12:31 pm

Hmmmm . . . Bill McKibben and Bernie Sanders, two has-been hacks both trying valiantly to stay relevant in a world that has passed by them.

I’m just wondering what percentage of the energy needed to transport Bernie and “all those climate experts from around the world gather(ed) in New York at the UN for their annual week of talking through the world’s deepest dilemma” and to keep them housed, fed and entertained will be provided from solar energy as compared to from fossil fuels . . . my best guess 8% solar versus 80% fossil fuels, with the remaining 12% being other “renewables” and non-renewables.

BTW, in one very real sense, the “world’s deepest dilemma” is how to rid itself of so many grifters, such as these two.