Press Releases and Opinion Editorials
Climate Change: U.S. is Taking a New Direction
September 21, 2009
An Opinion Editorial
On September 22, U.S. President Barack Obama will speak to world leaders on climate change during a special U.N. summit in New York on the eve of the 64th session of the U.N. General Assembly.
The nations of the world are working hard right now to negotiate a new international agreement to combat climate change.
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing our world today. Already its impacts are apparent and consequences severe. Arctic sea ice is disappearing faster than expected. Sea levels threaten to rise higher than previously anticipated. And water supplies are increasingly at risk from both melting glaciers and extreme climate events, such as droughts and floods. These changes threaten not only the environment, but also security and stability.
The science sends a simple and stark message: all countries must work together to combat climate change, and the time for action is now.
President Obama recognizes that the United States must be a leader in the global effort to combat climate change. We have a responsibility as the world’s largest historic emitter of greenhouse gases. We know that without U.S. emissions reductions no solution to climate change is possible, so the U.S. will take the lead in building a 21st century clean energy economy.
When it comes to climate change, President Obama is taking the U.S. in a new direction. The President called on the U.S. Congress to develop comprehensive clean energy legislation to cut emissions 14 percent from 2005 levels and 83 percent in 2050. A bill has passed the House of Representatives and is making its way through Congress. The President’s economic stimulus package includes over $80 billion for clean energy, and recently instituted vehicle standards will increase fuel economy and reduce emissions.
But action by the U.S. and other developed nations is not enough. To preserve a safe and livable planet, all major emitting nations have to join together to take strong action. There is no other way to contain climate change – the International Energy Agency estimates 97 percent of future emissions growth will come from the developing world.
South Africa has already taken steps in this direction by developing a national long-term mitigation strategy. Despite a heavy dependence on fossil fuels, South Africa’s plan includes ambitious energy efficiency goals, including expanded renewable energy generation by 2025.
The U.S. is pursuing a global strategy to combat climate change through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiating process, the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, and key bilateral relationships. During her August visit, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged, with her South African counterparts, to deepen the climate dialogue and explore opportunities for progress.
To achieve a strong international agreement and meet the climate challenge, all countries must be fully engaged. Developed countries, including the United States, need to reduce their emissions substantially by 2020 on an absolute basis, compared to a 2005 or 1990 baseline. Major developing nations, including South Africa, must take actions that will substantially reduce their emissions by 2020 on a relative basis, compared to a “business as usual” path. Other developing countries should focus on preparing low-carbon growth plans – with financial and technical assistance where needed – to guide their longer-term development path.
Ultimately, a climate change agreement must be about not only limiting carbon emissions but also about providing a safe pathway for sustainable development. Clean energy development is the only sustainable way forward. To facilitate this path, countries with advanced capabilities must stand ready to develop and disseminate technologies to countries in need. The United States and South Africa will seek to cooperate on such technologies through public and private partnerships.
If we work together, the effort to build a clean energy global economy can provide significant economic opportunity, driving investment, economic growth and job creation around the world. And it can be a means to bring energy services to hundreds of millions of the world’s poor. With the right leadership and investment, developing countries can leapfrog dirty phases of development to low-carbon technologies and clean energy opportunities.
We believe that economic development, access to energy, and care for the environment can, and should, be compatible. A country like South Africa with incredible human capital and natural and financial resources can lead the way in clean energy and conservation.
The United States is clear in its intent to secure a strong international agreement and we are confident that, as a global community, we can meet the climate change challenge. We recognize the calls for economic assistance to address this challenge, and the United States expects to play a role in helping provide support.
Written by John Griffith, the Environment, Science and Technology Officer at the United States Mission to South Africa.