Cultural Event 1: Forum on Paris Accords

Forum on Paris Accords

Wentz Science Center, Room 101 

7:00pm-8:30pm, May 22, 2018

ncclinked.com

           I had the opportunity to attend the Forum on Paris Accords as part of North Central's Sustaining the Globe event series.  The event featured a panel composed of the Consul Generals from both Japan and France respectively as well as NCC Scholar-in-Residence Professor Kobayashi and  Professor Bergren of Environmental Studies.  The discussion moderator was Professor Bloom from the NCC physics department.  The event began with an introduction by Jack Shindler, the Director of the Center for Global Education at North Central and the organizer of the event.  He was followed with a presentation by Ms. Suzuki, the Consul General from Japan.  The presentation reviewed the specifics of the three-step global climate initiative formulated and implemented in 1997 called the Kyoto Protocol.  President Trump's recent action to withdraw the U.S from the Paris Accords (or Paris Agreement) set to commence in 2020 (the third phase of the Kyoto Protocol) comprised the exigence for this event.

           "Why is it so hard to take action when it comes to climate change?"  

           Mr. Cholé, the Consul General from France, raised a good point: with any extensive global deal there are clear winners and losers.  The key is to convince the "losers" that their participation is valuable.  Often, the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, take Malawi for example, already produce a small carbon footprint and are basically at the mercy of top carbon footprint-producing countries to implement responsible policies that address the acceleration of climate change.  

           The world is not waiting for miracles to prove that human-accelerated climate change is a serious threat to Earth's well-being.  The evidence has been mounting up for over half a century and its legitimacy is conclusive within the scientific community.  More importantly, the challenge of taking global action on climate change is convincing governments to prioritize the value of future economic returns from climate change prevention investment initiatives over other short-term investments.  Prof. Bergren mentioned that the economic efficiency of global agriculture and global health will benefit immensely from actions to combat climate change now.  

           President Trump's decision to have the U.S. be the only country to withdraw support for the Paris Accords contradicts the strong American ideal that individuals should consciously take steps to shape their environment (including the natural environment) for both personal and collective good ("The Values Majority Culture Americans Live By", Schmult).  Fortunately, changes based on the U.S. withdrawal will not begin until late 2020, which allows time for potential U.S. political changes to recuperate economic, political, and environmental harm that stems from U.S. withdrawal from the accord.