Paris Climate Agreement

I’m sure that you have heard about the “Paris Climate Agreement” at least once a season for the past 5 years, but what actually is it?

A quick history lesson as I understand it:

1992 - President George W. Bush attended the Rio Earth Summit in Brazil to adopt environmental agreements that aimed to prevent dangerous human interference with Earth’s climate systems over the long term. It established a framework for future international negotiations and agreements. It was the birth of a global effort to reduce our impact on the planet. 

1997 - The Kyoto Protocol was adopted. It was the first time the nations negotiated and agreed upon legally mandated specific emission reduction targets. These targets were laid out for developed countries only, as the thinking went that developed countries have caused the impact, they should be the ones to take responsibility.

It officially went into effect in 2005. The United States signed the agreement, but President George W. Bush argued it would hurt the U.S. economy since China and India were not included in the agreement, which makes sense. What’s the point of initiating and helping to fund a global effort, without the support of the other top 3 major emitters? It would be a wash.

2016 - The Paris Climate Agreement went into effect. The difference now, is that it puts responsibility on all countries, rich, poor and developed, to participate. And, China and India are part of this agreement. The United States is, and should be, as well. Each nation sets their own emissions targets in line with their development. Every 5 years, countries are to announce their next round of emissions targets. 

As you can see, there has been awareness about climate change, and an effort to reduce our impact in place for almost 3 decades now. A concern is that the economic impact will be too great, but what of the costs climate change is already costing? Communities around the world are experiencing greater displacement, illness, famine, water shortages, and civil strife. Imagine if the amount of effort that is put into delaying climate policy, discrediting it, and undermining the efforts to mitigate emissions was instead directed towards solutions…

This is the direction the world is moving. Rather than constantly fighting each other, we should embrace the change and put the brilliant minds of the world to work to solve the problem. The United States stands as a beacon of hope to the rest of the world for what a society can accomplish, wouldn't we want to be leading the effort to heal and preserve our planet as well? 

One of the avenues in which we can push back against climate change is through agriculture. It is believed that if we continue on this path unmitigated, the agricultural sector will have widespread effects including droughts, extreme weather changes and events, and increased exposure to unwanted pests. This will lead to widespread crop damage and loss, and will make it nearly impossible to feed our growing population. Food insecurity is already a major issue within the United States, and we are at risk of only exacerbating the problem.

What we can do, as laid out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is improve land and crop management, livestock management, and manure management. This includes but is not limited to, stopping the practice of tillage (mechanical agitation of soil), improving pasture grazing patterns to increase the health and restoration of soil, increasing biodiversity by growing a variety of crops instead of monoculture, and increasing the presence of circular farming systems. 

This is why it’s important for all of us as citizens to be involved on some level. At Tierra Agua y Sol, we do our best to highlight places that are practicing sustainability in one or many ways so you can feel good about supporting their business if you choose to do so.