Op-Ed
By D. Brent Hardt
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing our world today. Already its impacts are apparent and consequences severe. Arctic sea ice is disappearing faster than expected. Sea levels threaten to rise higher than previously anticipated. Coral reefs are dying. Water supplies are at risk from melting glaciers and extreme climate events, such as droughts and floods. These changes threaten not only the environment, but also security and stability.
The scientific facts send a simple and stark message: all countries must work together to combat climate change. The time for action is now.
That is why the nations of the world are working hard right now to negotiate a new international agreement to combat climate change.
In his address to world leaders on climate change during a special U.N. summit in New York September 22, President Obama made clear that he recognizes that the United States must be a leader in the global effort to combat climate change. We have a responsibility as the world’s largest historic emitter of greenhouse gases. We know that without U.S. emissions reductions no solution to climate change is possible, so the U.S. will take the lead in building a 21st century clean energy economy.
When it comes to climate change, President Obama is taking the U.S. in a new direction. The President called on the U.S. Congress to develop comprehensive clean energy legislation to cut emissions 14 percent from 2005 levels in 2020 and 83 percent in 2050. A bill has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is making its way through Congress. The President’s economic stimulus package includes over $80 billion for clean energy. Recently instituted vehicle standards will increase fuel economy and reduce emissions.
But action by the U.S. and other developed nations is not enough. To preserve a safe and livable planet, all major emitting nations have to join together to take strong action. There is no other way to contain climate change – the International Energy Agency estimates 97 percent of future emissions growth will come from the developing world.
The U.S. is pursuing a global strategy to combat climate change through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiating process, the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate and key bilateral relationships. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other high-level U.S. officials have traveled to several major developing nations to deepen the climate dialogue and explore opportunities for progress. Many of these countries have already taken steps to address climate change. But they will need to do much more.
To achieve a viable international agreement and meet the climate challenge, all countries must be fully engaged. Developed countries need to reduce their emissions substantially by 2020 on an absolute basis, compared to a 2005 or 1990 baseline. Major developing nations must take actions that will substantially reduce their emissions by 2020 on a relative basis, compared to their so-called “business as usual” path. Other developing countries should focus on preparing low-carbon growth plans – with financial and technical assistance where needed – to guide their longer-term development path.
Ultimately, a climate change agreement must be about not only limiting carbon emissions but about providing a safe pathway for sustainable development. Clean energy development is the only sustainable way forward. To facilitate this path, countries with advanced capabilities must stand ready to develop and disseminate technologies to countries in need.
If we work together, the effort to build a clean energy global economy can provide significant economic opportunity, driving investment, economic growth and job creation around the world. It can also be a means to bring energy services to hundreds of millions of the world’s poor. With the right support, developing countries can leapfrog so called "dirty" phases of development to low-carbon technologies and clean energy opportunities.
The United States is determined to secure a strong and effective international agreement, and I am confident that together we can meet the increasingly urgent climate change challenge.
D. Brent Hardt is Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Embassy to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.