Do Not Neglect the Paris Climate Summit

The recent, and unfortunate terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut, and Mali, to name a few, have been at the forefront of every major news media on the planet. Focus is on capturing the Paris accomplices, as well as preventing other attacks from happening. However, even though this attention is commonplace in times of danger, the upcoming Paris Climate Summit in December is being overshadowed for its significant importance. 

The goal of the Summit is for world leaders to create a set of reforms that would limit greenhouse gas emissions to the level of 2 degrees Celsius – the recommended level by Climate scientists that would prevent catastrophic damage to the planet. 

Some of the dangers of a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario where nothing is done include:

• As glaciers continue to melt, sea-level rise is threatening the livelihoods of island nations, which could result in another massive flow of refugees fleeing their homes.
• Warmer ocean temperatures will continue to affect marine life, coral reefs, as well as ocean currents that carry warmer and cooler waters throughout the planet. 
• More floods, droughts, hurricanes, and longer forest fire seasons.

In other worlds, the Paris Climate Summit is crucial for the health and well-being of our planet and ourselves. The planet is currently at a time of grief with the recent terror attacks, but we must not forget about the other challenges we have. 

Source: The Guardian

Just in the last few months, the British government has “slashed its support for solar power and other renewable forms of energy.”[1] Instead, they cite their move to gas as more feasible. However, let’s remember that producing natural gas releases methane, which is much more powerful than carbon dioxide in the short-term. 

Moreover, with the French government clamping down on any possible security threats, they decided to ban public organizing during the upcoming Climate Summit. This ultimately undermines the ability of those affected by our warming climate to have a voice, to be seen on TV, Facebook, Twitted about, and the like. 

The voice of the people is what drives these negotiations, and with governments on the fence with committing to effective climate action, they will likely seek the easy way out without no visible media focus on public gatherings. Naomi Klein makes this point very clear in a recent Guardian article, saying that people coming from the Pacific nations – those directly affected – use the public spaces to speak out, to fight for their lives.[2]

 

It is important to remember the reasons governments will gather in Paris this December, rather than make it less important by the recent attacks, and limit the willingness of the negotiations. The Paris Climate Summit is another type of security gathering, one for our children, and for our planet.

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[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/on-eve-of-paris-climate-summit-britain-pulls-the-plug-on-renewables/2015/11/20/240c5630-8311-11e5-8bd2-680fff868306_story.html

[2] http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/20/paris-climate-talks-protesters-hollande-violence

Obama Administration Rejects Keystone

Today the Obama administration officially rejected the controversial Keystone XL pipeline after seven years of review. Sponsored by the Canadian government, who under former Prime Minister Harper’s leadership sought to export Alberta’s Tar Sand oil to the Gulf of Mexico, the State Department concluded that the pipeline is no longer in US interests. 

This may not come as too much of a surprise, as due to high natural gas production in the US and low oil prices worldwide, the US is not as desperate as it once was seven years ago to obtain oil. Besides the economic factors, the Tar Sands oil is extremely heavy and difficult to extract. Meaning that potential spills could be a public relations and natural catastrophe in the US. Moreover, the heavy-crude oil would have spewed much more carbon emissions than conventional oil, leading to potentially higher sea-level rise, warmer weather, and more natural disasters in years to come.

View of how Tar Sand extraction affects the environment. Source: fragileandwild.com

Republican outcry will likely be seen as a response to the rejection, especially next Tuesday when the GOP candidates face each other once again at the Fox Business debate. Furthermore, this decision by the Obama administration will also serve as motivation to world leaders this December, as they will meet in Paris to discuss and limit climate change.

 

However, more is expected from developed countries, particularly Canada, which will have to decide what to do with the Tar Sand oil already extracted. Will they invest in clean energy instead? Or will export the oil to China as they have said before? Whatever the decision, the US is firmly standing up against carbon pollution and giving hope to environmentalists that world leaders will agree to a formidable climate change agenda this December 2015.

References:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/06/politics/keystone-xl-pipeline-decision-rejection-kerry/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/07/us/obama-expected-to-reject-construction-of-keystone-xl-oil-pipeline.html?_r=0

Obama’s Clean Coal Power Effort against a Republican Field

Every year that passes seems to be the hottest on record. While we are constantly told that climate change will be upon us, and that we should be more conscious of our efforts, most of us are not as aware of the issue as we should be. This 2015, temperatures in Europe and India reached record-breaking highs. 

As the Rolling Stone notes, The Guardian UK had to stop its live blog in the month of July because of excessive heat in its computer system. Then in India for example, the heat has been so strong that over a thousand people died because of it. While in the North American continent, California continues on its longest drought in history. 

Scientists have come out of their research shadows and began advocating their findings years ago, but many of us still do not listen to them. Take James Hansen, former NASA climatologist for example. He says that global sea-level rise could rise further than originally expected, up to 10 meters by 2065 as told by Rolling Stone. That would mean people living in Mauritius would have to find a new home in another country willing to take them in. 

Taking bold action to avoid this, Barack Obama issued his ambitious Clean Coal Power Plan a few days ago. Despite its difficulty in achieving it, it aims to cut carbon emissions from coal factories by 32 percent of 2005 levels in the next 10 years. A great plan indeed. 

However, it does not come without its critics. Republican nominees for the White House, like Jeb Bush, say it is a complete job-killer and unproductive for the American economy. Many fear that energy costs may go up because of it. Though these are good arguments at a glance, it fails to take into account the rise of renewables in the American economy as of late. 

As Derrick Z. Jackson of the Boston Globe reports, many Republican states have benefited from this rise, as Iowa and Kansas for example, already get “between 17 percent and 27 percent of their energy from” renewables. Moreover, Jackson also tells us that several companies like PepsiCo and General Motors have saved millions by focusing more on sustainability than ever before.

The tide is turning, and whether conservatives like it or not, caring for the environment is a bipartisan issue that affects us all. Obama’s efforts are encouraging, although with room for much more, but with the environmental problems that we have, that is what our planet needs.