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As the world gathers in Paris to hammer out a new comprehensive agreement to tackle climate change, the success or failure of that deal will rest to a great degree on the next President of the United States. Regardless of one’s political or economic views, or scientific understanding of the topic, a lot is at stake for the world’s environment and its economy, so our next choice of President matters. Here then is a summary of the candidates “climate IQ” (focused on those most likely to win their party’s nomination based on current polls*):

I have 10 kilowatts of solar panels on the rooftop of my home in Santa Monica, California, enough to power my energy needs most of the time. Instead of selling excess power to the grid (and buying energy at night when the sun isn’t shining) I’d like to install batteries in the garage, storing enough energy in daylight to power my home when it’s dark.

As recent news focused on stories and commentary about removing the Confederate battle flag from public property, there has been a little-watched movement by secessionists of a different stripe.   

Yes, a number of leaders are calling on states to secede from the union once again, at least as it applies to the national environmental laws that are designed to protect public health and save money. I’m tempted to compare these misguided politicians to Donald Trump, because their reasoning makes no more sense than a certain New York billionaire who is running for President, but let’s just call them the Carbon Confederacy.

Last month in Rio de Janeiro, I spoke at a conference of the non-profit Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership (GSEP), which may be the most disruptive and subversive organization you’ve probably never heard of.

For nearly half a century, homeowners and utilities have mounted solar panels on rooftops and in massive generation projects in the desert. 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) recently urged states to join those already “refusing to go along” with USEPA regulations that would cut air pollution from coal fired power plants.

I just spent a week at the 15th Annual Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in India, a four-day eco-extravaganza for hundreds of participants from government, business, academics, and community organizations. 

Think how quickly we evolved from landline phones, that took weeks to install, to cellphones that take a few minutes to buy and activate.