Belated New Year’s Resolution on Climate Change

By Edna Sussman

The buzz in the air was electric; thousands of people of every nationality gathered to address what may prove to be our generation’s greatest challenge: reversing the course we have set on climate change. Everywhere I turned in the Guy Favreau Complex in Montreal at the United Nations Climate Change conference in December I was met by dedicated individuals many of whom have been working for over a decade on the international climate change framework. Everywhere I turned I was met with dismay over the United States position. The United States, which in 2002 (the most recent statistics available) emitted 24% percent of the world’s carbon dioxide (CO2) while housing less than 5% of its population, has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which established a commitment by virtually every industrialized nation to reduce its green house gas emissions.

In Montreal the U.S. highlighted the many federal initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions. While many of these programs are exemplary, the measures taken to date which rely on voluntary action and investments in technology are not sufficient. The federal government’s solicitation of industry to voluntarily reduce CO2 intensity, keying CO2 reductions to economic growth as opposed to requiring absolute reductions, has already proven to be inadequate. A study issued by the Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy just days after the climate change talks ended in Montreal reported that carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. rose by 2% in 2004 over 2003 levels and predicted an increase in U.S. CO2 emissions over 1990 levels of 28% by 2010 and over 50% by 2025. Whether the U.S. reliance on a technological breakthrough not yet achieved to provide the magic bullet to solve the problem will pan out is a total unknown. We cannot wait for such miracles. Moreover, the changes required will not only serve the purpose of addressing climate change but will also serve the crucial goals of increasing our energy independence and security.

Those representing U.S. local governments and not for profit organizations in Montreal urged the international community to take heart by looking to the many actions taken in the U.S. at the local level. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”), which was successfully concluded on December 20, 2005 by New York and six other northeastern states, establishes a cap and trade system which takes effect in 2009 and requires electricity generators to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to a level 10 percent below current emissions by 2019. This is the first cap on CO2 emissions in the United States and represents a signal achievement of which New York should be proud. The U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement which commits municipalities to meet or beat the greenhouse gas emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto Protocol –a 7% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012 --launched by Mayor Nickels of Seattle has now gathered close to 200 signatures across the country including our own communities of White Plains and Mount Vernon and our neighbor, New York City.

These significant measures are essential to establish a foundation on which to build and create the educational avenues and incentive programs needed. However, our success in reducing CO2 emissions will rest largely on the support of individuals in all sectors of society. It is our electricity and fuel consumption that produces the CO2. Our homes account for 21%, our commercial buildings (our offices, stores, schools, hospitals, etc.) are responsible for 17% and our transportation sector produces 33% of our U.S. CO2 emissions.

Acting together, we can influence CO2 emission numbers significantly with simple cost effective actions. So this is the time to add one more belated resolution for the New Year to our list and make a difference. It will not cost money, but it will require taking a few hours out of our busy life to do four things:

1. Figure out what we can do to reduce our electricity and energy consumption in our homes. Small changes can make a big difference.
2. Find out what steps have been taken in our workplaces to assess and reduce energy usage and urge that action be taken. There are a host of solutions that save energy and at the same time save money.
3. Urge Scarsdale Village government to join the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Concrete action plans are being developed for municipalities.
4. Write to our elected officials at the federal and state level and let them know that climate change is an issue we care about and will watch. Communications from constituents really matter.

The international community is looking to those of us who are concerned about climate change to work on reversing the federal government’s position and to address CO2 emissions locally. Let’s not let the world down.

Edna Sussman is a Scarsdale resident and the President of Action for Tomorrow’s Environment, a not for profit organization dedicated to fostering sustainable development.

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