Horowitz: Paris Climate Agreement Puts the World on the Right Path

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Rob Horowitz, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Rob Horowitz

The climate change agreement reached in Paris over the weekend puts the world on the right path to avoid the worst consequences of global warming. For the first time, nearly all the nations of the world--- developed and developing nations alike, 197 all told--- have agreed to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

It is the case that even if all the commitments made in Paris are fulfilled it doesn’t get us all the way to limiting global temperature rise beyond pre-industrial levels to the 2 degrees Celsius or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit scientists say is required to make the negative impacts manageable. But it lays a strong foundation upon which we can build on to achieve this critical goal. For example, the agreement mandates that nations set more ambitious carbon reduction targets every 5 years and provides robust reporting and information-sharing requirements.

Perhaps most importantly, as Secretary of State John Kerry remarked on a number of the Sunday morning news shows, it sends a strong signal to the energy marketplace that renewable energy sources and developments are a good bet for venture capitalists and other investors. This point was underscored by Bill Gates announcing at the beginning of the climate negotiations in Paris the launch of a a robust new renewable energy fund to which he is committing $1 billion of his own money and has already recruited investors such as Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, These kind of investments will speed the transition of our energy system away from fossil fuels Even before the Paris agreement, the price of solar power has dropped 80% over the past 5 years or so.

This is a truly historic diplomatic achievement for President Obama, brought about in large measure by the credibility-building Executive actions he has taken on the climate, coupled with persistent diplomacy that succeeded in getting China and Brazil to agree to commit to reducing their greenhouse gases. This sent a strong signal to the rest of the developing nations that it was time to stop using the argument that global warming is a problem created by the Western nations, which industrialized earlier, as a reason to do nothing.

It is certainly well premature to declare victory over climate change. As Timmons Roberts, Professor of Environmental Studies at Brown University and attendee at the Paris talks writes in a brief for Brookings Institution, “So in Paris, the UN has finally delivered. Now it’s up to the nations, companies, civil society and all our institutions—from universities, churches, hospitals, service agencies and local governments—to immediately and aggressively move this effort forward. If we sit back, Paris’ words will remain just that.”

But in a world where there has not been a whole lot of good news lately. Paris provides real grounds for optimism.

Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, elected official and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at University of Rhode Island.

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Horowitz: Paris Climate Agreement Puts the World on the Right Path

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