Recently, the United State's president Obama has been making progress in limiting the use of greenhouse gases on a global scale. This progress was furthered when a group of scientist, backed by the United Nations, presented evidence that life was being affected on every continent and ocean because of climate change. Days after this announcement was made, Obama pledged that the United States would contribute $3000000000 (three billion dollars) to the Green Climate Fund. The purpose of this fund, which was setup four years ago, is to help developing countries combat climate change. After this contribution was made by the United States, it brought the Green Climate Funds up to $6000000000 (six billion dollars), which is more than half way to the targeted goal of between $10-15 billion dollars. This landmark decision helped progress and push a general global climate agreement. This was just the first major contribution in recent news that helped get the green train rolling.
After the contribution of the three billion dollars Obama promised, another HUGE agreement was made. During a news conference in China, Obama announced that the United States would be cutting green house emissions by at least 26% by 2025, which doubled the current pace of carbon reduction. China's president Xi also committed to changing their thriving but corrupt energy industry into a more environmentally friendly industry. Xi promised that 20% of China's energy will be transferred to renewable energy by 2030. He also promised to crack down on high ranking members of the coal and oil companies, along with cracking down on lower officials in the energy sector. These officials were notorious for ignoring or not obeying carbon emissions regulations. This is a major turn in events for climate change since the United States and China are responsible for a third of the carbon emissions produced from green house gases. These three major promises are just a start to cleaner and more environmentally friendly environment, making the future look promising.
If you would like to check out more about the United States commitment of $3 billion dollars, you can check that out here.
If you would like to hear more about the US-China agreement you can check that out here.
If you are interested in recent news about the Green Climate Fund, such as Japan's commitment of $1.5 billion dollars at the G-20 summit, you can find out more at their website.
I like how you opened up your post with a brief definition of greed as this is, in my opinion, is the root of global warming. Many energy companies are more concerned with yielding profits rather than protecting our planet. What they don't realize is that their greed is what is destroying our planet and soon enough, there won't be a planet for them to have their power plants. I believe the US and China, as the world's top producers in green house gases, are taking a step in the right direction to reduce and limit the emissions of green house gases. Although there time frames are a bit long, something is better than nothing.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post. I find some of your comments in this blog post somewhat ironic because global warming is one of those subjects that we spoke about in class during discussions that balances on a very thin line between being motivated by politics or by scientists who are genuinely concerned with the environment. All in all I think it's fantastic that Obama has committed the U.S. to such an admirable cause but I cannot help but think the move is calculated and driven by his own greed, an inevitable trait you mentioned in your first paragraph. Perhaps I am missing how greed and the agreement between China and U.S. to fight against global warming are related. I find these commendable decisions as acts of giving rather than self gain.
ReplyDeleteHi Jen,
DeleteLet me clarify on the greed portion i mentioned. China currently has 60% of its energy ran by its coal industry and they have been notorious for ignoring emission laws, leading to more greenhouse emissions. Xi, china's president, said he was going to break down on these law breakers. This is how greed fits in with China, on the other hand the U.S. can very well be disregarding laws also. I hope this clears up the confusion.
Thie post definitely brings up several interesting factors in that have to be used to combat global warming/climate change around the world. Many think that all countries will just fall in line if the U.S. and other leaders like China stop using a majority of fossil fuels. But third world countries, that are poverty ridden, are going to take the most efficient and cheapest source of energy that can be delivered. So right now alternative is expense compared to conventional sources such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas. This fund to help these countries is a great way to really say "we understand that the needs of the people in these countries are going to be put first, and we willing to help pay to speed things up." Also, indirectly, with both the U.S. and China committing more policy to using alternative sources they will drive costs down and making alternative energy infrastructure more affordable to third world countries and emerging markets.
ReplyDeleteThis is all good news to hear, however I am a little skeptical. The line you used near the end, “These three major promises are just a start to....”, sum it up pretty good. At the end of the day, they are just promises from politicians. How many times have we seen promises go unfulfilled in governments? Even if the promises are kept, then it could just become politicians throwing money at the problem. I’m not saying that it is not a good step, but I won’t hold my breath. Greed is like an addiction, and big companies that emit a lot of pollution might try to work around regulations in order to keep costs down. Smaller companies might have to just to remain profitable. I could see China making faster progress because they kind of have to since they can see the thick smog of pollution in some cities.
ReplyDeleteHi Derek,
DeleteYou are very right about large corporations working around the laws. They are currently trying to do so in the U.S. I am not worried about politicians changing their mind, cause it has been proven that Climate change is leading to some irreversible effects on the planet, making this a main concern for everyone.
Tyler,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post, because I'm glad we are working on making our Earth cleaner and shut down greenhouse gasses. Pollution and global warming emission is a serious thing that is not only affecting Earth but also plants, bodies of water and people's health. I'm really glad that people are starting to make the transition of frequently using renewable sources. My blog is talking about using renewable resources especially solar energy, and building devices for it. This path has showed that the environment and the economy will benefit from it.
I had no idea of The Green Climate Fund before reading your blog. That is pretty amazing. President Obama is doing a great job in supporting efforts to fix global warming. For that amount of money and the contribution of China it is a humungous step forward. Do you think other countries will follow? China to make a decision like that is intense considering how much coal they use. I think that no other country can really use an excuse if China can do it.
ReplyDelete