Dear Future!
I hope life in the year 2126 is pleasant, and that the climate is in good condition! Over the past few days, my US History class has been discussing if what we’re doing today is harmful for the future, and what impact we will have on the future, climate wise. Kind of like the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s, which was caused by poor farming techniques by people of the past. A couple peers and I decided to focus on the politics behind climate change and how it can it can work to improve the future, and I decided to focus on the international affairs of climate change.
There is a lot of debate going around today, on whether or not climate change is a serious issue. It is a heavy topic during presidential debates, some wonder why? But it’s kind of simple, we want to look out for the people of the future. We want society to strive for many more centuries, and if we are careless with our climate now, we won’t be able to achieve that. I went on the Pew Research Center (1) website and found out that around 54% of the global median thinks that climate is a “very serious problem”, 74% think that it is a good idea for their country to cut back on greenhouse emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2). On the website I found a graph* that showed Latin America and Africa being the most concerned about climate control. Their percentage of concern being both above the global median, Africa being at 61% and Latin America being at 74%.which is highly reasonable, and understandable . What I found that is difficult for me to believe is that China and America have the lowest concern, China is at 18% and America is at 45%. Both much below the global median of 54%. The reason this shocks me is because China has the world’s greatest annual CO2 emissions, and America is in second place. Many countries believe that wealthier countries should be responsible for taking care of and controlling climate change, because they produce most of the global CO2 emissions. Which is completely reasonable, they can afford it and they are one of the main causes to why our climate is in danger.
If we did have a negative impact on your current climate state, I would like to apologize. However we are currently, in the year of 2016, are trying to prevent that from happening. See back in 1995, according to the Sustainable Innovation Forum(2),or SIF, The Conference of Parties (COP) met for the very first time in Berlin, and every year after that, in different parts of the world. Each conference having the same goal, to stabilize “atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gasses” (SIF). During the third COP meeting (COP3), the Kyoto Protocol was “adopted”, however not put into effect until COP15. This was one of the first steps politically, to improve the globe's climate internationally. Their goal was to cut down global warming related emissions, according to Britannica’s encyclopedia. It was put into action in 2005, but it was first introduced in 1997. My first question was, why was this protocol needed. It was because in 1988 climate observers, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change, were certain that in the future the long terms effect on the climate would lead to the rise of sea levels globally. Which would eventually lead to islands disappearing, glaciers melting, sea ice, and arctic permafrost, in addition to floods, droughts, and the extinction of many plants and animals. So based on these scientific predictions, officials came to a consensus that they needed to make a move to better the climate. There was concern that countries would not be able to meet the protocol due to their lack of resources. But the protocol provided aid for the countries to meet said goals. They had natural processes that removed greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere, known as “sink”. Which was basically countries planting trees everywhere because trees absorb the CO2 and let out oxygen. There were also international programs that encouraged developed countries to invest in technology so that underdeveloped countries could receive said technology to make it easier to reach their protocol commitment. Lastly there was emission trading, so countries could buy and sell emission rights. Which put an economic value on greenhouse gas emissions, leading to many countries meeting their Kyoto Protocol commitment.The Kyoto Protocol was very efficient with providing aid to countries that could not provide for themselves. However there were some worries, such as minimal effect on the climate, and not meeting the goal. Which was mostly due to the fact that China and America had not ratified the protocol. Thankfully this protocol was replaced by a more recent agreement. . Just a few months ago, leaders from around the world came together in Paris for COP21. It was one of the largest COP meetings to ever happen. There were around 50,000 participants, 25,000 of which were official delegates from “government, intergovernmental organizations, UN agencies, NGO’s, and civil society” (SIF). The goal of this meeting was to create a “legally binding, and universal agreement on climate” (SIF), and to strive to keep global warming under 2°C .
The COP21 conference was successful in making its goal. The delegates came together and made an agreement known as “The Paris Agreement”. The main goal of which is to keep the global temperature rise below 2°C and limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C, which is a “safer defense line against the worst impacts of climate change.”(UN Climate Change Newsroom (3)). The only big question we have now is how are we going to achieve this? A lot of people say that we can’t because we would have to make drastic changes to our lifestyles, and no one is really willing to do that. But Laurent Fabius, President of the COP21, and French Foreign minister says, “The Paris Agreement allows each delegation and groups of countries to go back home with their heads held high. Our collective effort is worth more than the sum of of our individual effort, our responsibility to history is immense.” I know it seems simple, “work together and you will achieve”, but see Future, there are a lot of conflicts between countries currently, so it’s hard for countries to work together and come up with a solution that’s suitable for all countries. I really hope that that’s not the case in your time. Another issue is money. The Agreement says that by 2020, countries need to have worked together to raise the climate finance to $100 billion. The thing is, not many countries are as developed as America, so they don’t have that kind of money. The agreement says that we need to decrease emissions to reach the temperature. With mitigation, we can hopefully achieve this as soon as possible. We would also need an accounting system for climate action, the strength and ability to cope with the negative effects of climate change, and also the strength to recovery from them as well. Lastly, and most importantly we need financial support. We need money and we need it now! I personally don’t see how that will happen within the next three years. Maybe if there was more time, it would be believable. But for the time being I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
I really hope that you, the future, understands that we are trying to do everything that is financially, and politically possible to prevent the climate from taking a turn for the worse. And if our efforts weren’t good enough, then I am truly sorry. I really do hope that this works out.
Best Wishes!
The Past
P.S: Are there flying cars yet?
Footnotes:
(1) Pew Research Center is a “fact tank” that helps provide the public with information, news, and trends that help shape America. This website includes articles about public opinions, demographic research, and other social science based research. This website is led by Michael Dimock, along with a staff of 130 people. It is funded primarily by The Pew Charitable Trusts, and was originated in 1990.
(2) Sustainable Innovation Forum is an annual event that has, for the past 7 years, partnered with the United Nations Environmental Programme to establish partners with businesses and government to advance the green economy. They do this by having a global media platform, for people to share their technology and expertise that will provide solutions for climate change related issues.
(3) UN Climate Change Newsroom is a website with stories and articles written by staff
