United States President, Barack Obama took a trip to Paris to meet with leaders from 150 nations on Nov 30th and it was not just to discuss the recent terrorist attacks. There is another issue at large, and that is global warming. The meeting that took place in Paris was the COP21 climate conference. President Obama has said that climate change poses an enormous threat to the planet currently and for future generations. No nation is immune to this and it is an issue that needs to be handled with urgency. With the US being the second largest contributor to the problem Obama has made it his duty to make change. At the conference he stated, “The United States not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it.”
The goal of the conference was to get countries on board with converting to clean energy and cutting carbon emissions. At the conference 181 nations pledged that they would combat man-made carbon dioxide pollution. For other nations that can not afford this switch president Obama has offered to help pay their share and is urging business leaders to contribute to this as well.
There is just one problem with all of this, none of it is legally binding. Getting a treaty to pass on this issue seems like it would be an easy thing considering it involves the entire planet but like most things it is more complicated than it seems. It is hard to get that many countries to agree on practically anything. Not to mention president Obama is fearful that the treaty would not pass with the house of representatives. Without something legally binding like a treaty will we see the necessary changes needed to save our planet?
Int'l Conflict & Security (RPOS 386) 
i absolutely agree with you, a legally binding treaty could help this predicament of global warming! it is good to see that there is some movements being made to strive towards bettering the environment and ensuring that there is an Earth left for future generations. Despite the lack of legal pressure to maintain more stringent standard of operation and prevent any further damage to the environment. Sometimes it does take a common, almost insurmountable threat to unite previously quarreling groups. Still, I think a national alliance to stop an alien invasion would be a much more fun threat to combat to save the human race…
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I agree that that global warming is a huge issue and that no country is immune. That’s why I don’t understand why a legally binding agreement can’t be passed. I understand that the U.S. and even China have its reasons for not wanting a legally binding agreement but it is something that won’t change if no one has to stick to their word. It will be too easy for any one to go back on what they said. We need to be able to make sure that the global temperature doesn’t reach the 2 degree mark because if it does then there the earth will face even more problems than it already does. This is an issue that every country needs to work together on, and even if a country can not afford to change its ways than one of the more developed countries should help no questions asked. It is a problem that every person will face whether they realize it or not and will be effected, now or down the road. Simple steps can be taken to reduce each person’s carbon emissions so even if a legally binding agreement doesn’t occur that doesn’t mean each person can’t take this into their own hands. If every person reduces their carbon emission just by not keeping an extension plugged in while not being used it can help a lot. But it would help a great deal if every government can get behind this and do their part because if not than one day they might not have a government to run because global warming took over.
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Interesting post! It is unfortunate that the United States neglected its obligation to the international community and the issues of climate change amidst the Kyoto Protocol debate. It is encouraging to see a renewed commitment to this critical and omnipresent issue, though, under the Obama Administration; however, I personally find the President’s suddenly progressive disposition to be somewhat hypocritical considering he provided a ‘green light’ to offshore oil drilling giant Shell earlier this fall… and then, in what can only be described as an instantaneous change of heart, decided to cancel the offshore leases. The White House’s indecision has simply left me bewildered.
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Global warming is a issue that should not be taken lightly which is why its unreasonable to not have some type of treaty so everyone can follow the rules. Developed countries with an higher access to funding should help out the non- developed nations before the carbon emissions get too high to manage
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The last article that we read for class I think highlights how the global community should approach this issue. Once every country begins to see that climate change is a threat to their national security then they will begin to move towards more “green” policies. To the best of my knowledge there have not been any large scale conflicts due to a nation trying to stop another from polluting but if there is not serious change in the next decade then the state of the environment might become the focus of international conflict in such a way that terrorism is currently.
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Very interesting post. It is getting to the point where global warming and the negative impacts it holds for every nation is coming to the forefront of international attention. As you said, it is difficult for any of the provisions or agreements made in Paris to be enforced when there is no strict method or real way to enforce an international treaty such as this. And yet it is by and far one of the most important and urgent issues, that needs all of the worlds participation and attention to mitigate and adapt to. Unfortunately while the effects of climate change can easily be calculated and seen playing out as we speak, there is a sentiment of denial in U.S. politics, that while beneficial to some economic sectors, will have tragic consequences if allowed to influence future policies regarding climate change.
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There are many concerns about Global warming, however, we do not care much what scientist think about climate change because of our busy human activity. According to the Scientists’ report, global temperatures were increasing but were also decreasing, however it is sure temperature getting higher compared to the history of temperature. The growing gap is markedly keep changing. If we don’t think about resolving of the Global warming for the future, as human population continues to grow rapidly, simultaneously, sea levels would also rising and it would causes more flood, low-lying coastal zones, famine, diseases etc. We should think about global warming for preventing serious side effects and for future generations.
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