鈥淒on鈥檛 give up and don鈥檛 be resigned鈥� in the fight against climate change, said Todd Stern, former U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change in his Distinguished Speakers Series lecture Wednesday.
The fight against climate change should not be viewed as a burden but as an opportunity, Stern said, who led the U.S. negotiations at the Paris Climate Accords. 鈥淭here is no question that the transformation to low-carbon technology is not just one of the biggest challenges, but (also) one of the biggest economic opportunities in front of us right now,鈥� Stern said. 鈥淣o country in the world has a comparative advantage in this area that鈥檚 bigger than the United States, because it鈥檚 all about innovation, and we have an innovation infrastructure and culture that is second to none.鈥�
鈥淔rom the point of view of somebody committed to action on climate change, the results of the election were unwelcome,鈥� Stern said. But he added that the rapidly decreasing price of clean energy will continue under the Trump administration. 鈥淒espite this speed bump with respect to the Trump administrations policies鈥� the shift to clean energy will continue, he told The Herald.
Stern discussed the implications of climate change as a partisan issue in the United States. With the election of Trump, 鈥渋t鈥檚 clear domestically that there鈥檚 going to be a pullback鈥� of climate-related action, he said. Despite this, around 鈥�75 percent of Trump鈥檚 supports are strongly in support of clean energy development.鈥�
Globally, the treatment of climate change 鈥� with some notable exceptions in India and Middle Eastern states dependent on oil 鈥� is very different. 鈥淢ostly, climate change politically around the world is a post-partisan issue,鈥� Stern said. China, for example, 鈥渉as become quite invested in the development of renewable energy and clean energy,鈥� and 鈥渋s going pretty much full tilt鈥� in trying to fulfill its commitment under the Paris Agreement, he added.
Stern also spoke about his career negotiating climate accords, beginning with the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. There, negotiators drafted an unrealistically ambitious plan that required ratification from the U.S. Senate, he said, but this approval never came. Today, the United States is the only signatory to the protocol that has not ratified it.
During the Bush administration, the United States stepped back from climate change response leadership. But Stern noted that after the 2007 UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, global leaders widely desired to draft a new agreement. Under the Obama administration, the United States jumped 鈥渙nto a moving train of negotiations鈥� that produced the Paris Agreement, Stern added.
Going into the negotiations, Stern said he knew that 鈥渨e could not repeat the (Kyoto Protocol) experience of the United States saying 鈥榶es鈥� and then having it dead on arrival in the U.S. Senate.鈥� He helped structure an agreement that did not have to be ratified by the Senate.
鈥淭his agreement is partly legally binding and partly not,鈥� Stern said. For example, the targets for emissions reduction are not legally binding, but transparency and accountability requirements are.
The Paris Agreement 鈥渁bsolutely did not go far enough鈥� because the targets it sets do not put the world on track to sufficiently stop rising temperatures. But 鈥測ou can鈥檛 start unless you start,鈥� he said.
Looking forward, Stern said that he is worried about the possible consequences of the French election on the European Union鈥檚 role in climate leadership. If France elects Marine Le Pen and leaves the EU, 鈥渋t will be very challenging for the EU鈥� to lead climate action, he added.
鈥淚n my experience in climate, there鈥檚 a lot of truth in鈥� the notion that the United States is an 鈥渋ndispensable nation鈥� in global leadership, Stern told The Herald. But while it seems that the Trump administration will shy away from leading the world in the fight against climate change, Stern said that the future of technology is unpredictable. Perhaps, in the near future, innovation will make it much easier to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement, he added.
