The Push to the Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement was adopted into existence to help nations create a goal of not exceeding our humanities limit. The agreement has a long term goal to keep global temperature below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celcius) which is the point of no return, our species breaking point. 197 countries came together to adopt an energy and climate policy called 20/20/20 targets, which means the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 20%, the increase of renewable energy’s market share to 20%, and a 20% increase in energy efficiency. Each participating country must determine, plan, and regularly report its target to mitigate global warming by a certain date. With the US being one of the largest countries in the world, our contribution to CO2 footprint is also very significant. The Paris Agreement helps bigger countries like the US and China, by setting guidelines and goals for the countries to follow. The agreement helps countries to mitigate and adapt to the always new and changing climate situation.
To Trump, the Paris Agreement “protects the polluters, and costs a fortune”(BBC, Helier Cheung), and if the US withdraws its support, he can create more jobs in the oil and coal industries and it will “help America’s economy”. All those reasons aren’t feasible for the long term, over time the supply will run out and those jobs will be gone, and the economy will fall. Most business leaders say that the Paris Agreement is good for the economy, and it will do precisely what Trump wants, and more. The Paris Agreement can create 24 million new jobs and add 26 million dollars to the global economy. It will not only help the environment it will also create more long-lasting jobs. American companies are there to lead on climate action worldwide, and the Paris Agreement represents an opportunity to grow their businesses. Irrespective of all the benefits, Trump withdrew US support from the Paris Agreement and lost it’s seat at the table to advocate America’s interest on the world stage, being the only country to withdraw from the Paris Agreement so far.
As climate change escalates, the next few years will be challenging, so to overcome this difficulty we need not one, but every nation to defeat this challenge. The US being one of the biggest nations, it is important that we get our seat at the table of discussion. As a species, we must work together to survive, to achieve that we need to work beyond our geographical boundaries. The best way to do that is by being a part of the Paris Agreement. Having a vein of communication to every country is going to be vital in the coming years.
Natural resources aren’t unlimited, like coal and oil, which means that the jobs attached to those resources will also come to an end when the supply runs out. On the other hand, renewable energy sources don’t have a limit like natural resources. So investing in those types of energy resources will be beneficial for the long term of both jobs and America’s economy. Financing in a region which can promise you a long term benefit will be better for the future of the country. It will also force us to keep using renewable energy to make sure we limit the amount of fossil fuels we use.“If we keep pulling death from the ground, we will reap death from the skies.” (Van Jose), this is the exact outcome of a nation that will continue using fossil fuels.
Even though the Paris Agreement is just a mear treaty, it will pose significant effects on how we deal with the ongoing crisis in our atmosphere. The Paris Agreement sets rules and guidelines which force us to think of more creative ways to better solve these life-threatening challenges. To achieve all of these ideas, America must go back to the Paris Agreement.
References:
- How Much Carbon Dioxide Does the United States and the World Emit Each Year from Energy Sources? https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-much-carbon-dioxide-does-united-states-and-world-emit-each-year-energy-sources?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products. Accessed 17 May 2020.
- “6 Reasons Why the Paris Agreement Is Good for Economies.” Unfoundation.Org, 4 Nov. 2019, https://unfoundation.org/blog/post/6-reasons-why-paris-agreement-is-good-for-economies/.
- Cheung, Helier. “What Does Trump Actually Believe on Climate Change?” BBC News, 23 Jan. 2020. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51213003.
- Roberts, Timmons. “One Year since Trump’s Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.” Brookings, 1 June 2018, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/planetpolicy/2018/06/01/one-year-since-trumps-withdrawal-from-the-paris-climate-agreement/
- Fossil Fuels Quotes (13 Quotes). https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/fossil-fuels. Accessed 18 May 2020.
- 5 Questions You’ve Wanted to Ask about the Paris Agreement. https://www.conservation.org/blog/5-questions-youve-wanted-to-ask-about-the-paris-agreement. Accessed 18 May 2020.
- “The Consequences of Leaving the Paris Agreement.” Council on Foreign Relations, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/consequences-leaving-paris-agreement. Accessed 18 May 2020
- “Paris Agreement.” Wikipedia, 30 Apr. 2020. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paris_Agreement&oldid=954042263.
- December 12, and 2018 Melissa Denchak. “Paris Climate Agreement: Everything You Need to Know.” NRDC, https://www.nrdc.org/stories/paris-climate-agreement-everything-you-need-know. Accessed 18 May 2020.
- “Paris Agreement | Summary & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Paris-Agreement-2015. Accessed 18 May 2020.