Recently, key world leaders met to discuss the single most important issue threatening our existence, climate change. This summit is being called in Le Bourget, a small town just outside of Paris. I applaud the French govern- ment for holding the sum- mit and inviting key world leaders to take part in this discussion in the wake of the tragedy that befell them only two weeks prior. To President Francois Hollande, French government officials, and the citizens of Paris, kudos. I sa- lute you.
The conference is sched- uled throughout the next two weeks, with representa- tives from countries all over the world coming together to discuss the threat of global warming, and what it could mean for the global popula- tion. President Obama, at the end of the first day of talks, sounded extremely optimis- tic about the conference. To- gether, with efforts expended by President Xi of the Peo- ple’s Republic of China and many other nations, we can expect to see the outcome of this summit as a step forward towards a cleaner world envi- ronment and economy.
This isn’t the solution. It is, however, a step forward from what was. The most optimis- tic scenario would be that emissions from factories and other sources would be cut down to half of what is need- ed to avert global catastrophe in the future. I reiterate, this is just a stepping-stone. Not a solution.
On top of that, my concern over lack of action by world governments is un- founded for now, at least. All the world leaders there are dedicated to focusing on ef- forts that would effectively counter emissions. The only problem is the money. While that’s always the problem where governments are con- cerned, I’m confident that the politicians will be able to sort that out. Even Vladimir Putin, a man who was quoted as saying that maybe global warming would keep Rus- sians from spending money on fur coats, was there and in full support of the talks. He is now on par with President Obama on the issue, which can prove to be valuable, considering Russia is one of the largest emissions produc- ers in the world.
As the conference contin- ues, I will watch for several things, one of them being a clear consensus by the gath- ered politicians on a goal they need to achieve. As far as I’m aware, nothing like that has happened yet, but by the time this gets published, it could happen, so keep your eyes peeled.
In general, this talk is what we need. The past two haven’t exactly done what needed to be done, and this is where the Paris talks will get us moving. I think that, with the pressure of 150 nations and around 30,000 represen- tatives, things will get done in relatively short order. For the first time in our lifetimes, we may actually be able to see some progress in the vein of global warming, and as a re- sult, we may be able to pull ourselves out of a bleak fu- ture, and into a bright one. All we needed is a stepping- stone.