Yesterday in Paris we saw the most important political agreement consummated since the Cold War. Almost every country on Earth signed it and the major world powers finally put it on paper that climate change is a clear and present threat. Countries now must be accountable to themselves, to each other and to posterity.
Al Gore’s statement on the significant accomplishment (Yay!) and the significant work that still needs to be done is perfect in both its optimistic tone and the realistic obstacles that still exist. It is similar to Churchill’s old statement about the “end of the beginning.”
Gore writes:
Today, the nations of the world concluded a bold and historic agreement, clearly demonstrating that the global community is speaking with one voice to solve the climate crisis. Years from now, our grandchildren will reflect on humanity's moral courage to solve the climate crisis and they will look to December 12, 2015, as the day when the community of nations finally made the decision to act.
To even get 196 countries to sign onto anything this important and hold each other accountable is remarkable. The differences between China, India, Russia, the EU and the United States regarding their stances on climate change and future economic development, especially concerning a transition from dirty fuels to renewable energy, are astounding. Gore’s statement about a “bold and historic” agreement is correct because the world finally put it on paper that we are all together in facing a battle that will take everybody’s effort. Gore’s optimism is clear in his second statement, mentioning “humanity’s moral courage” and the importance after two decades to finally act.
Gore continues:
This universal and ambitious agreement sends a clear signal to governments, businesses, and investors everywhere: the transformation of our global economy from one fueled by dirty energy to one fueled by sustainable economic growth is now firmly and inevitably underway.
We are seeing this in the United States as we speak, and the Obama Administration has proven to be a boon to clean energy. The Berkeley Lab reported that solar energy prices have fallen to 5 cents per kilowatt hour since 2009, a 70% drop. Within 5 years, we can reduce the price of solar energy to parity with dirtier fuels. Solar energy is already a seriously competitive cost-effective option for utilities companies, especially those in areas with greater solar coverage (the Sun Belt, the Great Plains). Wind energy is even cheaper, clocking in at 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour in 2015. In rural areas, wind is already just as competitive as traditional fossil fuels.
Gore continues in his third paragraph:
The components of this agreement -- including a strong review mechanism to enhance existing commitments and a long-term goal to eliminate global-warming pollution this century -- are essential to unlocking the necessary investments in our future. No agreement is perfect, and this one must be strengthened over time, but groups across every sector of society will now begin to reduce dangerous carbon pollution through the framework of this agreement.
Notice that Gore knows that the agreement is a necessary first step and must be improved over time. Under Obama, carbon dioxide emissions are slowly flattening out, with coal, the most dangerous form of dirty fossil fuel, declining significantly from about 2 billion metric tons in 2009 to 1.7 billion in 2014. The raw amount of American liquids/petroleum burned into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide have remained largely flat since Obama took office. Our biggest obstacle in achieving the goals we want is a Republican Congress who will never accept even a 2% carbon tax as a starting point for reining in fossil fuels. The political will is there as long as we can mobilize and get a Democratic Congress, which is just as important as a Democratic POTUS.
Gore concludes:
The Paris agreement represents the ceaseless efforts of civil society, governments, business, and investors, all of whom have dedicated themselves to this cause. Most of all, thanks are due to the French government led by President Hollande and Minister Fabius, and the United Nations, led by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Christiana Figueres and her team at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Gore acknowledges that businesses and corporations are also important in this process. It is our job to place ceaseless pressure on these businesses and corporations who want to step out of line and act wasteful. It is a fact of life that businesses are still going to exist in the United States and elsewhere, and there is really no way to get rid of all of them (basically, a socialist utopia isn’t happening). Therefore, our greatest recourse is to protest and design policy ourselves for the businesses that we work for (in cases where we work for a business). Solutions will not just come from a Democratic POTUS and Congress; the best solutions could come from the bottom up. Well-meaning people in the private sector must also devise solutions, which sometimes might not be as effective as government policy, but could also assist government policy if thought out effectively.
