By Alieen Burke
Staff Writer
Despite the political reprehension that the new and somehow controversial United Nations Climate Change report was met with by the majority party, it is important to know that there was a report nonetheless.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change has released a report this month on the effects of climate change in the international system.
The report contains some alarming statements; if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the rate where they currently stand the atmosphere will increase by 2.7 degrees fahrenheit by 2040.
There are effects outside of the environment if human behavior remains consistent. According to the New York Times, the economy will tank; approximately $69 trillion is at stake internationally.
If the projection is correct, and there is a chance that it could be underprojected, 1.2 percent of gross domestic can be lost per 1.8 degree of warming. The potential impact is absolutely unprecedented by any other work in the earth science field.
This report also emphasizes that “… the United States intends to withdraw from the Paris agreement at the earliest opportunity absent the identification of terms that are better for the American people.”
The decision to withdraw from the agreement has not been a popular one with the American people, and the frustration on the part of the citizenry is understandable.
The opposing argument to the nation’s presence in the agreement is that the United States of America should not have to pay for other nation-states that are just going to continue at the same level of pollution they emit right now, which is not even a whole truth.
Syria was not initially going to sign the accords, but changed their stance in November of 2017. This left the United States as the only country to not sign the Paris Climate Agreement.
The current sitting president himself has been hesitant to read this report. His reading and acknowledgement of reading it would require some sort of decisive action, or a statement that would be in the best interest of the people since he has doubled down on his ‘America First’ efforts, especially when it comes to the United Nations.
There is no reason why – if the United States is to champion any cause – that it should not be environmental issues.
If the planet is in crisis, we can no longer fight over things like the economy or trade laws. There needs to be a sustainable planet for us to do our political work on.
We talk about changing things for future generations, but what if there is nowhere for future generations to exist? Where do we go from that hypothetical and potentially realistic point?
It is time to decide where our priorities lie, and to fight for what we will think might have the greatest impact on the future residents of Earth.
Action, no matter how you feel, is imperative with for viewpoints. We cannot keep avoiding this conversation.
Without engagement with sustainable behavior practices, there will be nothing left to fight for within our lifetimes.
