Largest carbon emitters team up in combating climate change

Baruch College, New York, NY November 24, 2014 -- The Ticker, provided by UWIRE, a division of Uloop via Comtex

 

On Nov. 11, China and the United States, the world's biggest emitters of carbon, acknowledged the urgent need to curb emissions. The agreement is seen as a victory and landmark for climate change. This is the first time that either nation has formed a mutual pact purposed toward combating climate change.

In an op-ed published in the The New York Times on the day of the agreement, John Kerry described the fight against climate change as one that requires international cooperation. "We need to solve this problem together because neither one of us can solve it alone," he insisted.

The agreement symbolizes international cooperation and a brighter outlook for climate change. Nations and politicians can no longer play the blame game when arguing against cutting emissions, and when world leaders gather in Paris next year to discuss combating climate change, the United States will be better able to persuade.

However, to say that world is heading in the right direction toward combating climate change would be ignoring the many other hurdles the world faces.

The case is yet to be made on whether China and the United States' agreement will alter the behavior of other nations. A recent study from the University of Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index ranked Norway as the most prepared nation for climate change. Norway is also a prominent actor in encouraging other nations to curb emissions and is vocal in bringing awareness to this issue. However, Norway is also one of the biggest distributors of oil.

Combating climate change can be very costly. Stanislav Shamayev, a senior majoring in finance, described the agreement between China and the United States as financially unsustainable at present moment. "I think that's very good progress for humanity, but I don't think it's financially sustainable as the way they ended up. But it is a long time away. So it gives them a sufficient amount of time to work toward that goal," he analyzed.

Green energy has become a huge market in recent years and has been growing steadily. Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund, described in an op-ed to The Wall Street Journal that China and the United States' agreement is "one of the most powerful market signals we have ever seen." But the green energy market remains unable to sustain large economies on its own.

Cindy Lawrence, a senior majoring in human resources management, believes that we need to start thinking about the long run. With reference to the wind-powered energy sector, Lawrence stated, "They're not getting so much support because of complaints about taking away from the scenery. If people think of the long run, they will not think of the scenery as such a big problem and actually push for these better efforts."

Another concern often felt is whether the advancements done to curb emissions will be able to undo the harm that has already been done. "Honestly, cutting carbon emissions, that's just one part of it. At the same time, when you look at it, we're still going to have the problems we're going to have especially with natural disasters and global warming," lamented Christopher Victor, a senior majoring in human resources management.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. emissions have increased at an average annual rate of 0.4 percent from 1990 to 2011. As of 2010, however, the United States has begun to decrease its emissions. This attributed a decrease in coal consumption and an increase in usage of natural gas and hydropower.

From 2010 to 2011, greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 1.6 percent. At the current rate, the commitment of a 26 percent reduction within 10 years seems arduous and possibly infeasible.

In 2008, the European Union agreed to the 2020 Climate and Energy package, which commits each member nation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.

Sweden, France and Belgium have successfully employed carbon-efficient technology to meet their goals, but according to an analysis by The Washington Post and the Breakthrough Institute, other EU member nations have lowered their carbon rates by transporting their industrial and agricultural needs to other nations, namely China.

With all eyes now on China and the United States to begin their part in the fight against climate change, they have the advantage of time. Each year has since brought tremendous development in the green energy sector, and there remains plenty more progress to come.

Unlike China, the United States faces the challenge of rallying political support in order to maintain their commitment. With the GOP soon to gain control of Congress, one of the first measures they hope to pass is curbing the authority of the EPA, which regulates carbon emissions. Considering the fact that China's economy is highly dependent on exports, it seems unlikely that it will outsource sectors of work abroad. The sky may start looking blue again in Beijing.

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