To continue the topic of America, climate change, and the Paris Agreement I began in this post, I will answer the last question I posed: what happens when America refuses to embrace clean energy?
There are two aspects to this question that offer vastly different answers: domestic and international. Domestically, where President Trump obviously has extraordinary power, efforts against global warming and other environmental concerns will suffer markedly, as they already have been. In my last post, I mentioned pesticide and pipelines, but the injury runs much deeper. We have an EPA chief who does not believe in human-caused climate change or Obama-era clean energy initiatives. A joint resolution from Congress revoked the "Stream Protection Rule," which aimed to protect waterways from mining waste. U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke overturned the ban on lead ammunition and fishing tackle to prevent lead poisoning in plants and animals.
The administration is doing plenty, but we cannot forget about Trump's own executive orders directed at environmental issues: "Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth," "Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the 'Waters of the United States' Rule," and "Expediting Environmental Review and Approvals for High Priority Infrastructure Projects." All three carefully address in one way or another that while "it is in the national interest to promote clean and safe development" of energy and other environmentally-drawn resources, they should not disrupt economic growth. Whatever the intentions of these executive orders are, they are short-sighted and damaging to the environment. The first revokes an Obama executive order and three memoranda on clean energy and climate change, rescinds the President's Climate Action Plan and Climate Action Plan Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions, and begins to tear down the Clean Power Plan. The second targets the addition under Obama to the Clean Water Rule, defining "waters of the United States" as including smaller streams and wetlands that are not necessarily "navigable." The third calls for expediting federal infrastructure projects at the expense of more thorough environmental reviews. Coal, oil, even water as we know it will not last forever. Even if the Trump administration continues to support non-sustainable resources and decrease major environmental protections, it is a huge mistake to not invest in clean energy and environmental protections.
The U.S. under Trump will most definitely not reach Paris Agreement targets, whether or not Trump officially tries to withdraw. An analysis by Climate Advisors, a company dedicated to clean energy policy and solutions, found that our country could add up to half a gigaton of carbon dioxide by 2025. That is 500,000,000 tons. Moreover, since our "emissions trajectory... cannot be quickly reversed," the effects of this administration will actually be more strongly felt the years following his term.
One positive note rings out from the Climate Advisors analysis: despite the harm this administration is doing to federal environmental regulations, it "will not be able to reverse existing market trends that favor a low-carbon economy." One of the big contributors to carbon emissions is, of course, transportation. A great example of the low-carbon approach becoming more acceptable and even popular is the success of the Toyota Prius. The Prius has enjoyed consistent sales and reputation, and I know from my own personal life the surprisingly significant presence of Priuses. The Prius is probably the most well-known car model among my peers. Entire families exclusively own Priuses. People struggle to find their Uber or Lyft because all the drivers use Priuses. Beyond cars, even some of the biggest companies of the energy industry are advocates. The CEO of General Electric Co. went so far as to say that companies should create "their own 'foreign policy'" to commit to climate change efforts, and Exxon Mobil, an enormous gas and oil company, said America should remain in the Paris Agreement. Hopefully, Americans will remain motivated to pursue a clean-energy future even if the Trump administration continues to slash emissions and energy restrictions and environmental protections.
Internationally, it looks like other countries will not be deterred by what happens here. Executive Director of Greenpeace International commented that the U.S. administration "[stands] completely alone on being climate deniers." Considering that every recognized country or political union signed the Paris Agreement, those concerned about global warming can be comforted by the fact that the international trend is clear: climate change is real, and every country needs to do something about it.
What could potentially push America back on the right track with regards to global warming and environmental protection is, interestingly enough, what we like best: competition. Experts have been looking specifically to China as the new leader in climate change. The country with the highest carbon emissions has been suffering from extensive pollution of air, water, and soil, and the mounting risks, including millions of people dying from polluted air, have kicked the government's focus on climate change efforts into high gear. Hopefully, the rest of the world will continue to stay strong on the climate change front, and America will eventually jump back on the wagon, if not for the sake of our future planet, then for the sake of not being left behind by the international community.
Showing posts with label climate change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label climate change. Show all posts
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Trump, the Planet, and the Paris Agreement [Part 1]
Since the start of President Trump's term, American efforts for environmental protection have been taking hits, to say the least. From permitting the notorious Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines to allowing the continued use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, the Trump administration has been indiscriminately weakening various aspects of the fight against climate change and environmental degradation, a fight the United States had been gaining footing in under the Obama administration.
Under President Obama, American proponents of clean energy and sustainability celebrated successes such as the Clean Power Plan, the Clean Water Rule, and federal tax incentives for wind and solar power. One of the most notable, if not the most momentous, of these actions has to be America's entry into the historic Paris Agreement.
To understand the Agreement's significance, we must first discuss the Kyoto Protocol. The parent plan of the Paris Agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, sets targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction as well as several measures aiming to assist Parties in more easily implementing the Protocol and staying on track with their targets. One such mechanism is the use of international emissions trading. Essentially, if a country beats their target, or produces less emissions than its set maximum amount, it may sell "assigned amount units" (AAUs) to countries over their targets. This procedure of trading AAUs works as a constant correction mechanism, allowing countries to work together and observe exactly how well or poorly they are following their goals. Parties no longer need to wait years down the line to accurately evaluate the collective effort of the countries involved. Secondly, by making carbon more of a commodity in this context, Parties are economically incentivized to reduce emissions even more. Although the Kyoto Protocol was a crucial step, it was really just that – a step. The protocol, held by 192 parties, exhausted its first commitment period in 2012, and world leaders were already itching to do more just as the protocol was coming into force.
After the disappointing summit in Copenhagen in 2007, during which details of a new Accord were not adequately fleshed out or given a quantified aggregate target for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, the Paris Agreement was nothing short of a miracle. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) hosted 197 parties in Paris, France to craft the Paris Agreement, a landmark plan to combat climate change. This is the first universal, legally-binding climate agreement, and not only is it revolutionary in nature, but it is also incredibly ambitious in content. Most notably, the Paris Agreement set the global temperature increase limit to not 2˚C above that of pre-industrial times, the standard number that is often quoted, but 1.5˚C instead. To one-up the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement also asked that states submit Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), which are customized plans by respective countries to help keep the global temperature increase below 2˚C. Formulated in December 2015 and opened for signature on Earth Day, April 22, of last year, the Agreement reached the threshold for entry into force in a mere six months and officially entered into force November 4, days before the U.S. presidential election.
What is particularly monumental about the United States' involvement with the Paris Agreement is that although the state signed the Protocol in 1998, the U.S. never actually ratified the protocol or entered it into force. So, the US immediately signing the Paris Agreement and having it ratified by September was definitely a cause for celebration.
The Paris Agreement, unfortunately but unsurprisingly, has found little encouragement since then. As a presidential candidate, Trump famously vowed to dissolve the "war on coal" and specifically promised to retract U.S. commitment from the Paris Agreement. As of this past Thursday, President Trump has decided to make the final call in May. The reality of the situation is that staying in or withdrawing from the Agreement is not the issue. The formal process for withdrawing can take years, and the Trump administration can just choose to flout our INDC. The real question is this: when one of the highest carbon emission producers in the world, per capita and over all, refuses to embrace clean energy, what happens?
Under President Obama, American proponents of clean energy and sustainability celebrated successes such as the Clean Power Plan, the Clean Water Rule, and federal tax incentives for wind and solar power. One of the most notable, if not the most momentous, of these actions has to be America's entry into the historic Paris Agreement.
To understand the Agreement's significance, we must first discuss the Kyoto Protocol. The parent plan of the Paris Agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, sets targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction as well as several measures aiming to assist Parties in more easily implementing the Protocol and staying on track with their targets. One such mechanism is the use of international emissions trading. Essentially, if a country beats their target, or produces less emissions than its set maximum amount, it may sell "assigned amount units" (AAUs) to countries over their targets. This procedure of trading AAUs works as a constant correction mechanism, allowing countries to work together and observe exactly how well or poorly they are following their goals. Parties no longer need to wait years down the line to accurately evaluate the collective effort of the countries involved. Secondly, by making carbon more of a commodity in this context, Parties are economically incentivized to reduce emissions even more. Although the Kyoto Protocol was a crucial step, it was really just that – a step. The protocol, held by 192 parties, exhausted its first commitment period in 2012, and world leaders were already itching to do more just as the protocol was coming into force.
After the disappointing summit in Copenhagen in 2007, during which details of a new Accord were not adequately fleshed out or given a quantified aggregate target for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, the Paris Agreement was nothing short of a miracle. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) hosted 197 parties in Paris, France to craft the Paris Agreement, a landmark plan to combat climate change. This is the first universal, legally-binding climate agreement, and not only is it revolutionary in nature, but it is also incredibly ambitious in content. Most notably, the Paris Agreement set the global temperature increase limit to not 2˚C above that of pre-industrial times, the standard number that is often quoted, but 1.5˚C instead. To one-up the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement also asked that states submit Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), which are customized plans by respective countries to help keep the global temperature increase below 2˚C. Formulated in December 2015 and opened for signature on Earth Day, April 22, of last year, the Agreement reached the threshold for entry into force in a mere six months and officially entered into force November 4, days before the U.S. presidential election.
What is particularly monumental about the United States' involvement with the Paris Agreement is that although the state signed the Protocol in 1998, the U.S. never actually ratified the protocol or entered it into force. So, the US immediately signing the Paris Agreement and having it ratified by September was definitely a cause for celebration.
The Paris Agreement, unfortunately but unsurprisingly, has found little encouragement since then. As a presidential candidate, Trump famously vowed to dissolve the "war on coal" and specifically promised to retract U.S. commitment from the Paris Agreement. As of this past Thursday, President Trump has decided to make the final call in May. The reality of the situation is that staying in or withdrawing from the Agreement is not the issue. The formal process for withdrawing can take years, and the Trump administration can just choose to flout our INDC. The real question is this: when one of the highest carbon emission producers in the world, per capita and over all, refuses to embrace clean energy, what happens?
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