For my civic issue blog, I would like to cover the environment and sustainability on a political level, on the international and national scale. As more and more people recognize the importance of the climate crisis, we see a push for countries to move towards a more sustainable future. In this blog I would like to cover the changes that are happening and the important work that is being done. Recently we have seen a new administration come into power in the United States and changes to the countries climate policies. It is important to understand some background information before we understand why these changes were made and how it became a political weapon. The United States itself has been at the forefront of the Interational scene since the end of World War II. Helping to found organizations such as the United Nations, The United States has many times taken the lead on some international issues. Although the climate issue has now been taken over by other countries such as China and Denmark.  

The United Nations wanted to address the issue of each country working towards goals separately by holding a conference to create what is now known as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In 2015, the United Nations passed 17 development goals with a hope to make strides towards the set deadline of 2030. I want to go over a few of the goals that I think are important to talk about on the political level. The first goal I want to cover is the goal of Sustainable Cities and Communities. As developing nations move towards an urban future, it is important to lay the groundwork for a more sustainable way of life. The way cities are set up now are not sustainable in the Western World unless large scale changes shift it towards a better way of life. Energy and water consumption, as well as sewage and waste disposal are examples of important systems that can be more sustainable for the future. That is why this goal is so important. There is no doubt that cities will be a part of human society in the future, and because of this we must look towards sustainable ways to create and maintain cities.  

Another and arguably more politically–charged Sustainable Development Goal is Ensuring More Affordable and Sustainable Energy Systems. This has become a very heated topic especially in The United States due to the implications of both long-term destruction of the environment and job loss. Companies making billions of dollars in The United States through fracking and importation and exportation of fossil fuels will not likely give up an industry that continues to rake in billions of dollars a year. These large corporations not only affect politics through their donations to better their interests, but employ many American workers. If the world and the country are to move towards a more sustainable energy system, we must create and offer a new system that is cheaper, better for the environment, and offers just as many if not more long-term jobs for Americans.  

The last Sustainable Development Goal I would like to talk about is Partnerships for the Goals. For any of these goals to have any real impact there must be international cooperation. The United Nations does not have the authority to force any country to follow any laws or protocols within their borders so the change we need must come from the countries themselves working together. There is no better example of this than what has been named, The Paris Climate Change Agreement. In 2015, countries from around the world met in Paris. After a large summit, 196 countries including The United States, under President Obama, signed and agreed to this resolution. The resolution is the somewhat–aggressive but necessary goal of keeping the planet to at most 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than its pre-industrial levels. It is important to note however that each country is allowed to set its own emission standards for greenhouse gases under the accord.  

The United States, however, would soon change administrations. Donald Trump’s administration took control of the White House in 2017. Throughout his campaign he had claimed that he would leave the Paris Climate Change Agreement, and on November 4th of 2020 the United States officially left the accord. Donald Trump, an adamant climate change denier, was dead set on leaving the accord although it was frowned upon by many corporations and government agencies. Looking back towards the last Sustainable Development Goal, Partnerships for the Goals, the destructive nature of this decision becomes clear. The United States has contributed the most greenhouse gases cumulatively since the Industrial Revolution, so its role in reversing and stopping the effects of these behaviors are important. And yet many Republicans applauded this move. President Trump did not only leave the accord, he also repealed many of the greenhouse gas emissions regulations that had been put in place by the Obama Administration. This went directly against the pledge the United States had made during the accords. The country pledged to cut national emissions by 25% of their 2005 levels by the year 2025. It is also important to point out that leaving the accord also means that the United States would no longer contribute the 3 billion dollars pledged to the global fund meant to help developing countries create a more sustainable infrastructure. Two thirds of the money pledged was withdrawn from the funds. 

The new administration under President Biden has effectively rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement as of January 20th , 2021. It is important to understand the political side of the agreement and the conversation of climate change before I dive deeper into specific topics. The United States has a lot of ground to make up in the fight against climate change, and rejoining the accord was just the beginning. The United States has the powers and resources necessary to be the leader on this issue, and due to the damage it has done, it needs to be. The Biden administration continues to make changes towards a more sustainable future, but for any large-scale change to happen in this country he must steer the conversation away from politics and towards science.  

Bibliography: 

“THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development.” United Nations, United Nations, sdgs.un.org/goals.  

Hersher, Rebecca. “U.S. Officially Leaving Paris Climate Agreement.” NPR, NPR, 3 Nov. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/11/03/930312701/u-s-officially-leaving-paris-climate-agreement. 

“Paris Climate Agreement.” The White House, The United States Government, 21 Jan. 2021, www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/. 

Unfccc.int, unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement.