Multiple news outlets are reporting that President Trump will announce this week his intentions to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate change agreement. The move is likely to upset U.S. allies across the globe, especially considering that the accords were agreed to by 197 nations.
This is further evidence that the onus is on us to fight climate change. Here in Alabama, some of our vulnerabilities include extreme heat, increased ozone pollution, drought, wildfire, or coastal flooding. And yet our state government has not taken any action whatsoever to assessing climate change impacts.
Alabama has no plan in place for future climate risks, nor have we implemented any adaptation strategies. State funding and resilience policies are virtually non-existent. Alabama is woefully unprepared to deal with the health and environmental impacts of climate change.
Public opinion is on our side. A poll released last month by Yale University and George Mason University found that 69 percent of Americans support staying in the climate agreement. That level of support is inconceivable in these polarized times.
The support is bipartisan, too. Majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans think the U.S. should remain a part of the accords. Even a plurality of Trump’s supporters (47 percent) support staying in.
Regardless of the overwhelming bipartisan support for participating in the Paris climate change agreement, we cannot lose sight of what matters most: the science.
Climate change is undeniable
Climate action is unstoppable
Climate solutions provide opportunities that are unmatchable.
–@antonioguterres https://t.co/a8O14NCLUc— United Nations (@UN) May 31, 2017
Inaction is not a viable action, nor is going it alone. We have to work collaboratively with other nations to solve the intractable problem of our changing climate and start implementing solutions now. The health of our planet and, most importantly, future generations is at stake.
