The time for bold action
POINT OF VIEW | CLIMATE AGREEMENT TO BE SIGNED FRIDAY
On Friday, leaders from around the world will gather at the United Nations for a historic signing ceremony of the climate agreement that was reached in Paris in December. Given all of the conflict and competing interests in the world, how is it possible that 195 nations could come together and agree upon dramatic reductions in carbon emissions? Do they not understand the costs involved in making such a huge transition in energy usage? Do they not understand the fragility of the global economy? Do they not understand the number of jobs that will be lost if fossil fuels are going to be phased out and replaced by wind and solar?
I can imagine many people in Oklahoma are scratching their heads and wondering why such bold action would be necessary.
As information about climate change has emerged over the past three decades, there has been some disagreement regarding the exact nature of the threat. Policy experts have disagreed regarding how quickly humanity must respond in order to avert disaster. Some of us have taken this disagreement as a sign that we could wait; that we could ignore the problem for now. We imagined that the
YOUR VIEWS day would come sooner or later when all the information would be in and then we could formulate a clear plan of action.
Sometimes we don’t like to look at difficult problems. Maybe a new discovery or technological breakthrough will make this transition unnecessary. This is called a state of denial. We are by no means alone in this denial, but we must wake up and pay attention to this very real threat to our future.
Imagine that a doctor has told you that your child may have cancer and that it may be terminal if not treated immediately. You might seek a second opinion but you wouldn’t wait long. There is too much at stake to do nothing or ignore the problem.
A lack of clear and convincing evidence may have caused some of us to delay supporting meaningful action on climate change. The great American writer Upton Sinclair said, “It’s very hard to convince a man of something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” Whatever has been the reason for our reluctance to act, the time is now for serious action.