This piece by Caroline first appeared in the Global Justice Now newspaper The Road Through Paris

As heads of state and senior diplomats from almost 200 countries gather in Paris for the climate talks, we’ve got an unprecedented opportunity to secure climate justice globally, and to get on a path to energy democracy closer to home.

The formal aim of the Paris conference is to achieve a new international agreement on the climate, applicable to all nations, to keep global warming below 2°C.

There is hope that they will grasp the monumental opportunity at hand but there is also fear that they lack the vision or courage to do so.

Paris will be a big moment in history.  But we must remember that history is made not just in a day, or a week, but by what happens before and after those big moments.

The success of Paris will depend a lot on what happens after - how businesses, communities, campaigners and social movements respond. 

The main issue on the table is not how much each individual country will pledge to cut emissions at one moment in time.

We already know what most of those pledges are.

And we already know that they will not  - at that moment - be sufficient to keep temperatures to below 2 degrees  - never mind 1.5 degrees demanded by more vulnerable nations and many campaigners.    

That means, we must look to Paris for a framework to ensure that climate ambition will be seriously increased - mechanisms for countries to scale-up their national plans every five years.

And we need a long term goal to show we’re serious about the complete phase out of emissions - and phase in of 100% renewable energy - by 2050. 

The renewable energy revolution has already started. It can and must be global. Only through a multilaterial approach can we make that transition faster, more democratic and more just. Now is not the time to retreat behind borders and kid ourselves that we can tackle the greatest global challenge of our generation without international rules and agreements – including through the EU and UN.

However, success in Paris - and action to increase ambition thereafter -  is inextricably linked to domestic policies and politics. 

Climate change and clean energy policy in the UK is under attack.  

We’ve had a raft of reckless policy announcements.  From the generous tax breaks and taxpayer-funded propaganda propping up the fossil fuel companies to solar cuts and policy u-turns, sticking the knife into our own home-grown renewable energy sector.

No wonder there’s widespread condemnation, on economic and environmental grounds.

When it comes to avoiding dangerous climate change, phasing out fossil fuels and phasing in 100% renewables has to be at the top of the agenda. Locally, nationally and globally.

Yet now is not the time to despair.  

The flip side of this grim domestic picture is the tidal wave of civil society and business voices calling for stronger action – and of people taking action. Not waiting, but creating the alternative.

An increasing number of companies are going 100% renewable. 

Even corporate thinking on the circular economy and climate impacts on supply chains, is often far ahead of Goverments.

There’s the plummeting cost of solar power and other renewables, alongside exciting innovation in storage and smart grid.

And the science is clearer than ever. Not just on paper, but our real world experience of what destabilising our climate feels like. 

From floods in England to drought and wildfires in US to typhoon Haiyan and super storms.

Even more importantly, there’s the breadth of civil society mobilisation.

An increasingly diverse and influential range of voices are speaking out:  From the Pope’s encyclical to major institutional investors. From the BMA to universities divesting from fossil fuels.

Energy cooperatives and community groups are getting together to build and generate their own power from local renewable sources. 

Increasing, people are simply not willing to leave our future in the hands of those inside the secure zone in a conference centre in Paris.  

But the importance of political decision makers seeing this happen and hearing our voices could not be more crucial – before, during and after Paris.

As the saying goes: “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for”.

See you on the streets.