The biggest
changes we need to make to help the environment have to come from a governmental
level. Commitment to reducing emissions on national levels is the best way to
try and undo the damage done by humans on this planet.
Starting at
an international level, the Paris Agreement is the prime example of international
policy meant to save the Earth. The international accountability is a motivator
for countries across the world to start taking their global footprint seriously.
On a national
level, the United Kingdom is trying to reduce its footprint. It has made a Carbon Plan meant to reduce carbon levels to 50 percent what it was in 1990 by
2027. The longer-term goal is to cut emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
Those huge goals,
which are legally binding, provide a realistic framework that the government
and the people of the UK can work towards.
“In other words,
this generation has taken vital steps to ensure that our children and grandchildren
will see that we did our duty in securing the future of our planet,” said David
Cameron, former Prime Minister. “What is so special about this deal is that it puts
the onus on every country to play its part.”
On a local
level, I’ve seen the effects directly in Sunderland. The city council released
a plan last year to reduce local carbon emissions 34 percent by 2020.
This means the
city council is looking directly at their carbon output and reevaluating it in
order to achieve this goal. Carbon emission is a global problem, but it’s the
mass changes at local levels that will actually help.
The city council
understand the local effect on global warming and sees it as obligatory to
reduce emissions.
“As an organization
that uses carbon‐based fuels, Sunderland City Council is contributing to climate
change,” the report says. “Therefore, we have a statutory obligation to manage the
carbon emissions that arise from these activities.”
If humans
are to save the world, we need a mass effort of small communities to commit to
stopping climate change like Sunderland is attempting to do now. But when we
look at the top contributors of carbon, the USA is second after China.
And this country
does not seem to have the same devotion to reducing emissions.
I was
heartbroken was President Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the
Paris Agreement. While there is a four-year withdrawal process, meaning the US
remains in the agreement as of today, the administration does not have the
environment as a priority.
According to
the Climate Action Tracker, which holds countries accountable for their roles
in the Paris Agreement, the actions of the US are ‘critically insufficient,’
the worst possible ranking. As one of the biggest countries in the world, this
is especially concerning.
But maybe
local changes are still possible in the US. Just yesterday, Xcel Energy
announced a power plan that would cut carbon emissions in half by 2026.
“Xcel’s
Colorado Energy Plan is a true testament to how fast the cost of clean energy
is dropping,” said Zach Pierce, senior representative of the Sierra Club. “This
plan makes clear that we can power our communities with reliable, affordable
and clean power made in Colorado for Colorado.”
The company serves
eight mostly rural counties in Colorado and the plan still needs official approval,
but even without an apparent national motivation there are ways for communities
to reduce carbon emissions. It's something we should all push our governments to do.
