On December 12th, 196 delegates from nations came together to make history. After 13 days of negotiations, intense bargaining, and big-picture group thinking, the steps to battle against climate change with proactive solutions finally began. Despite the difference in socio-economic backgrounds, geography, and individual gain, one thing was resoundingly clear: Universally, we need and want to take care of our planet.
The agreement, which took place in Paris, France just days after the country was still reeling from multiple terrorist attacks across the city, required each nation to make a pledge for change. Nations will cut, or limit emissions from fossil-fuel burning with the main goal of bringing down pollution levels so that the rise in global temperatures is limited to no more than 2 degrees Celsius. The impact of such decisions will not only help avert environmental disasters, but also reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and create new opportunity, awareness, and commitment to rely on renewable energy across the map. San Diego is the first major city in the United States that has committed to taking up the cause and will be the first major U.S. city to commit to 100% renewable energy.
While the goal is ambitious, by 2020 the city will have shifted half of the city’s fleet to electric vehicles and will recycle 98 percent of methane produced by its sewage and water treatment plants. This type of aggressive change not only helps the environment but serves as a catalyst for larger neighboring cities to heed action.
Though President Obama faces harsh critics who believe the change and use of renewable energy will be expensive and eradicate jobs, he adamantly disagrees saying, “The skeptics said these actions would kill jobs….Instead, we’ve seen the longest streak of job creation in our history, with renewable projects creating a steady stream of middle-class jobs.”
To follow that, environmental advocate Al Gore went on to say, “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.”
History has certainly been made though there is much more to do. As nations come together, science evolves and action is made one step at a time, the world can and will change for the better.