The 5 most important developments in climate change in 2014

As the year comes to a close, there's more than one reason to cheer

Climate change
(Image credit: (Sean Gallup/Getty Images))

This year may go down as one of the more consequential years for action to prevent the worst effects of climate change. I have written in the past about why fighting climate change is proving to be such a challenge, but an end-of-the-year reflection on what we are getting right might make for a refreshing change.

The good news is that while global emissions continue to grow, 2014 saw a great deal of progress toward putting in place the policies and infrastructure necessary to eventually reverse that trend. Mankind has only just begun to change its damaging course, and much more work needs to be done, but here are five reasons to be cautiously optimistic:

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Neil Bhatiya

Neil Bhatiya is a Policy Associate at The Century Foundation, where he works on issues related to U.S. foreign policy, with a specific focus on South Asia and climate change.