Did We Forget About Climate Change?

Growing up, it felt like climate change would be the defining political challenge of the 21st century. Discourse about surpassing the 1.5°C "tipping point" and the risk of rising sea levels brought me a sense of imminent doom. When Greta Thunberg won Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2019, she reflected the fears of an entire generation.

This April 22nd, people across the globe will celebrate the 56th annual Earth Day, but are we really headed in the right direction? The United States is led by a team of climate skepticists, and rising energy costs amidst conflict in Ukraine and Iran demonstrate the world's ever growing dependence on oil. Without a doubt, the climate is still warming, and the impacts are still going to define our lives. But with so many monumental events happening at once, it seems that no one is talking about climate change anymore. What happened?

The Paris Agreement, ratified in 2015, was branded as the boldest solution yet to the climate crisis. It promised a transparent, country-by-country strategy to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2100, backed by financial assistance from developed nations. The issue? First and foremost, the United States, the source of nearly a third of the UN's funding, can't decide if it wants to be involved. After being ratified during the Obama administration, Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2017. Joe Biden rejoined the agreement just a few years later, only for President Trump to exit the agreement once again at the start of his second term.

Without support from the United States, the Paris Agreement has very little enforcement power, even for UN standards. In a 2023 report from the UN, scholars warned that "the world is not on track to meet the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement". Even if each nation in the agreement did meet their climate target, the world is still projected to warm well over 2°C by 2100.

Can the Rest of the World Step Up?

While the U.S. government remains apathetic toward climate policy, some steps are being taken across the world to tackle the climate crisis. China, the world's current top carbon polluter, has finally set an emissions reduction target for 2030. China has surpassed the U.S. to become a global leader in the expansion of renewable energy. Under the European Union's Emissions Trading System, carbon emissions have decreased within the EU by about 50% since 2005. In the past decade, India's solar industry has grown exponentially as government subsidies drive prices down.

Is it enough? Unfortunately, climate scientists don't think so. Experts are deeply concerned by China's long-term reliance on coal, and India has recently loosened its target for cutting greenhouse gases by 2030. All things considered, leaders in the developing world have to strike a careful balance between long-term environmental security and short-term economic prosperity. If the United States won't invest in new climate strategies, why should we expect others to make up for it?

The Importance of Local Activism

Watching inaction at the national and transnational level is disheartening, but important work is still taking place in local communities. In the United States, city and state governments can play a critical role in protecting the environment when the federal government is uninterested. Colorado Governor Jared Polis has set an aggressive goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. Vermont has passed legislation requiring its largest utility provider to switch completely to renewable energy by 2030, and Virginia recently prohibited local governments from banning large solar energy projects. 

Outside of the United States, grassroots action has also played an important role in safeguarding communities. Indigenous women from across Latin America advocate for the protection of critical ecosystems. In Nigeria, the installation of automated weather stations provides forecast data to farmers and herders. In Colombia, neighborhood organizations have experimented with new rainwater harvesting and forestation techniques to reduce urban flooding.

Local activism is particularly important because climate change and the policies we enact to address it impact each community differently. Undoubtedly, the transition to clean energy and the enforcement of environmental regulations can damage the short-term livelihoods of farmers, miners, and other laborers. Through climate action, we must empower and support these communities, not leave them behind.

Frankly, the path forward looks daunting. Economic uncertainty and inflexible bureaucracy keeps nations from taking aggressive action. Local activism is inspiring, but it can't stop corporations from polluting the environment. Still, the United States plays the most important role in the fight against climate change. Without help from history's biggest polluter, the fight against climate change stands no chance.