Our World in 2018

ENERGY & CLIMATE
also has reaffirmed his country’s
commitment to the Paris accord, and
is encouraging all other signatories to
do the same. At the Communist Party
of China’s 19th National Congress in
October, he reiterated that China is
in the “driver’s seat” of international
cooperation on climate change.
And in July 2017, all of the G20
governments, with the exception of the
US, signed a statement emphasizing
the importance and irreversibility of
the Paris agreement.
This declaration echoed an earlier
joint statement from the German,
Italian, and French governments,
issued in direct response to Trump’s
announcement in June. While
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
called Trump’s decision to withdraw
the US from the accord “extremely
regrettable,” French President
Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech
– in English, so that no American
would misinterpret him – describing
it as a dangerous “mistake.”
More important, governments
have gone beyond words, creating
facts on the ground. In October, India
and the EU strengthened a partnership
to develop clean-energy sources in
pursuit of the Paris agreement’s goals;
and Nicaragua and Syria announced
that they would join the agreement,
making the US the only country to
have spurned it.
Since Trump was elected, 66
countries – including Australia, Italy,
Spain, and, despite the disruption
caused by its Brexit decision, the
United Kingdom – have ratified the
accord.
Still, while the surge in diplomatic
support for the Paris agreement
should be celebrated, we must not
lose sight of the fundamental issue
at hand: global greenhouse-gas
emissions, which have effectively
flatlined for the past three years.
Unfortunately, this is nowhere near
the level of reductions that we need.
European Space Agency (ESA) undated handout artist impression of their
Environment Satellite, or Envisat would look like in space.
If there was one thing that 2017
made clear, it is the devastation
that awaits us if we do not do
more. With unprecedented intensity
and frequency, a series of hurricanes
laid waste to Caribbean countries,
Houston and the Gulf Coast of
Texas, and large parts of Florida.
In southern Europe, Australia, and
the American West, wildfires tore
across the countryside, claiming
lives and causing extensive property
damage. In South America, the Indian
subcontinent, and other regions, heat
waves, crop failures, and flooding
reached crisis levels. And at the poles,
ice sheets continued to collapse, as we
witnessed most dramatically with the
rupture in the enormous Larsen C Ice
Shelf in Antarctica.
Sadly, Trump seems unmoved by
either natural or economic realities. At
this point, the US economy has twice
as many jobs in renewable energy
as in the coal industry, which Trump
nevertheless insists on trying to prop
up.
But whether Trump likes it or
not, the growth of the renewableenergy
sector is changing the course
EPA PHOTO PA/ESA
not just of the US economy, but of
all economies worldwide. In 2017,
renewables were the top form of
energy to come online; and the shift to
electric cars continued to accelerate,
with almost every major automaker
announcing plans to move away
from internal combustion engines.
And around the world, the threat of
climate change is becoming a key
driver of infrastructure investment.
At the 2017 UN Climate Change
Conference in Bonn in November,
China and the EU continued to
fill America’s shoes, by leading on
global climate action. In 2018, we can
expect to see more evidence of the
impact of climate change, as well as
.
To be sure, these efforts will
have to be much larger and more
ambitious than in the past if we
are to meet the goals of the Paris
agreement. But, as we learned in
2017, those goals are still very much
within reach.
Trump or no Trump, the shift to
renewable energies is irreversible,
and it is driving change everywhere
– including the US.
OUR WORLD | 2018
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018. www.project-syndicate.org
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