In a speech led off with words of solidarity with the French people in the fight against terrorists, President Barack Obama told participants on the first day of the Paris climate talks Monday:
I’ve come here personally, as the leader of the world’s largest economy and the second-largest emitter, to say that the United States of America not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it.
Over the last seven years, we’ve made ambitious investments in clean energy, and ambitious reductions in our carbon emissions. We’ve multiplied wind power threefold, and solar power more than twentyfold, helping create parts of America where these clean power sources are finally cheaper than dirtier, conventional power. We’ve invested in energy efficiency in every way imaginable. We’ve said no to infrastructure that would pull high-carbon fossil fuels from the ground, and we’ve said yes to the first-ever set of national standards limiting the amount of carbon pollution our power plants can release into the sky. [...]
But the good news is this is not an American trend alone. Last year, the global economy grew while global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels stayed flat. And what this means can’t be overstated. We have broken the old arguments for inaction. We have proved that strong economic growth and a safer environment no longer have to conflict with one another; they can work in concert with one another.
And that should give us hope. One of the enemies that we'll be fighting at this conference is cynicism, the notion we can't do anything about climate change. Our progress should give us hope during these two weeks—hope that is rooted in collective action.
Obama vowed to provide money to assist the world’s poor nations make the necessary transition away from fossil fuels. He said: “For I believe, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that there is such a thing as being too late. And when it comes to climate change, that hour is almost upon us.”
As the president didn’t say, but knows full well, there is good reason for that cynicism given the outcome of past climate conferences. There are certainly fresh signs of hope this time around—such as the just announced proposal by India and France, a 120-nation alliance for a big expansion of solar power worldwide. But skepticism is still warranted when all the pledges nations have given for cutting their carbon dioxide emissions aren’t enough to keep the planet’s average temperature from rising no more than 2°C (3.6°F)—the level at which scientists say climate change impacts would still be livable for humans.
Among those commenting about Obama’s speech was Martin Kaiser, head of international climate politics of Greenpeace, who said:
“The offer of billions of dollars for research into clean renewable energy is a welcome addition to an energy sector that is already making huge strides. This could help deliver the great prize – 100 percent renewable for everyone by 2050. The President told the summit he means business this time. If the new cash is plowed into the genuine clean high-technology renewable industries that are already delivering, we’ll know he means it.”
The conference continues through December 11, after which the world will find out whether all the speeches and pledges that will be made over the next 12 days will actually generate effective action to ameliorate and adapt to climate change.