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Climate change comprises the interaction of environmental, climatic, technological, political, social, institutional and economic processes. Climate change involves the stabilization of green houses gases. It is inevitable and cannot be dealt with in isolation of societal goals such as equity and sustainable development. Technology and policy instruments should be integrated into equity and sustainable development so as to eliminate climate change. Climate change should be carried out in such a way that food production and economic development are not compromised. It should also allow the ecosystem to adapt naturally. Sustainable development is the capacity of existing generations to fulfill their needs without compromising the needs of the prospect generations. Sustainability involves striking a balance between the environment, society and the economy. Sustainable development could be improved by increasing citizen participation, putting in place mechanisms for resolving disputes, production processes that conserve the ecological base, having an economic system that can produce surplus and a good administrative system. The most important ideas about this topic are discussed as follows;
Stockholm and Rio de Janiero
Stockholm hosted the Human Environment Conference in 1972. It was attended by representatives of 19 organizations and 113 nations. It was the ever international conference held to uphold international issues. It led to establishment of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), which has its headquarters in Kenya. Rio de Janiero hosted the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992. These two events are significant. First, the conferences meant that the international nations had finally ‘appreciated’ the crisis of climate change and were now ready to prevent and reduce its impacts before they become severe. Second, since they were the first conference on environmental issues, they led to emergence of international principles, action plans and agenda for equity, climate change and sustainable development.
Climate change as a moral imperative
Sustainable development is achieved through striking a balance between economic development nationally, social welfare and environmental conservation, while putting an emphasis on the needs of the poor people globally. Morally, we are expected to meet our needs and address climate change impacts in such a way that we do not put the poor population and the future generations at a disadvantage. We are also required to make use of strategies that enhance intergenerational equity. Moreover, it highlights the fact that every individual has a moral obligation of reducing the extent of climate change ad its impacts. As individuals, we should be in a position to reply with “yes” if our children’s offspring asked if we made any effort to leave them a more stable and safe world.
Climate justice
The term ‘climate justice’ gives an ethical view of climate change. Justice is used to weigh the effects and causes of climate change. In relation to the legal system, justice is achieved through enactment and enforcement of climate change mitigation laws. The concept of climate justice is very significant. Apart from acting as a way of assessing how patterns of production and consumption interconnect with the impacts of climate change, it highlights human rights and social justice dimensions that can be used as a channel to push for the desired climatic changes.
Government Policy, Practices and Regulations
Policies have been put in place to reduce the emission of green house gases through dissemination and technological improvements, efficient use of, energy and adoption of cleaner sources of energy. Other international and U.S. policies like the Climate Change Science Program and the Climate Change Technology Programs have also been enforced with the main goal of bringing down the level of green house gas emmisions. A series of other regulation shave been put in place requiring federal agencies to carry out their integrated, environmental and transportation energy related tasks as provided by the law. Government policies, practices and regulation related to climate are important because they oversee and regulate individuals, companies, industries and other entities from releasing into the atmosphere an amount of green house gases that can be detrimental to the environment. They also offer provisions on compensation; they list what should be done to the perpetrators of climate change.
Role and responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The Environmental Protection Agency was set up in 1970. Its main goal was to consolidate federal research, Enforcement activities, monitoring and setting standards into a single agency that upholds protection of the environment. In addition to determining the greenhouse gas levels in 2009, EPA works in cooperation with various private and public partners to reduce green house gases in various ways such as saving consumers and industries money and reducing the use of energy. The role played by EPA is vital. In addition to collective efforts to minimize environmental risk national based in scientific information, EPA also protects Americans from risks to the environment and their health at the workplace, school and home.
Protection of the ozone layer
Protection of the ozone layer is significant. First, the ozone layer is responsible for protecting life on earth. It filters out harmful radiation from the sun and prevents it from reaching us. When green house gases are emitted, they rise up to the stratosphere where they react to destroy the ozone layer. Continuous depletion of the ozone layer will allow more of the harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun to reach use. This radiation is responsible for some skin illnesses such as cancer, impaired immune systems and cataracts. Apart from protection of human life, the ozone layer also protects plant and animal life. UV radiations would cause diminishing ocean productivity, reducing crop yields and declining amphibious populations.
Climate change adaptation plan
President Obama’s Climate Plans
They are aimed at minimizing the emission of green house gases into the atmosphere. Apart from reduction of emissions, the plans also prepare for the impacts of climate change such as severe weather, extreme temperatures, rising of the sea level and flooding. The plans have already achieved the goal of reducing the emission of green house gases. Direct emissions by the federal government have been reduced by over 17% since the year 2008 when the action plan was implemented. This percentage is equal to permanently eliminating 1.8 million cars from the road. In recognition of the pursuit of sustainability goals, the White House introduced the annual GreenGov Presidential Awards, an aspect that motivates entities to work towards realizing the sustainability goals.
Federal sustainability planning for the future
First, planning is essential because it ensures that the future generations experience a sustainable environment, society and economy that can sufficiently meet their needs. Second, it ensures that the federal government puts in place measures to mitigate the expected impacts of climate change in the future. According to president Barrack Obama, the nation is committed to building an economy of clean energy that can promote the health and prosperity of the environment and citizens in the next ceased. Also, in cooperation with Federal operations, the nation has an opportunity to minimize direct emission of greenhouse gases in the next decade by approximately 40%, while promoting innovation, reducing the rate of spending and reinforcing communities. Generally, it is the government’s interest to enhance efficiency and improve the environmental performance for the sake of future generations.
Leading international efforts in addressing climate change globally.
No country is immune from climate change impacts. Likewise no country can meet the sustainability goals on climate change by itself. The United States aims at cooperating with other countries in preventing and mitigating the impacts of climate change. More specifically, the nation aims at being at the forefront of fostering global solutions to climate change by collectively lobbying other governments to reduce the rate of greenhouse gas emission, planning for the effect of climate change and during the progress of international negotiations. For example, the climate change plan initiated by the president is committed to expanding major existing and initiated programs, inclusive of the bilateral initiatives with India, China and other countries. This shows that the United States of America recognizes the intensity of the climate change need for international cooperation. The willingness to be the leader in international efforts towards climate change initiatives shows that the nation is dedicated to this course.
Bibliography
Prizza, R. (2015). Climate Change and Disaster Managemnt. Sentia Publishing. New York
