Cynthia Mahoney: Will Paris Climate Summit help? It must
Will the Paris Climate Summit be a success? We had all better hope so.
The science is settled: 99 percent of current peer-reviewed papers say climate change is real, is caused by humans and urgent action is needed if we hope to limit warming to a “livable“ 2 degrees celsius – or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning worsening climate disruption even if we succeed. My fear is the targets for CO2 reduction will be too low, but we have to start somewhere and build momentum. America needs to act on this both because we have discharged the most cumulative CO2 and because we have the technological prowess to do so.
To those who think global warming is a hoax, they should ask themselves why industry giants such as Bill Gates just committed billions to solve this problem. The merchants of doubt have done Americans a disservice. America needs to get serious by pricing carbon emissions. Providing a steady market signal will incentivize the needed CO2 reductions and allow us to be a global leader in the most existential problem of our lifetime.
Cynthia Mahoney, Danville
This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Cynthia Mahoney: Will Paris Climate Summit help? It must."