Will we “always have Paris?”
Yesterday it became official: America formally withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, the world’s first binding commitment to meaningfully reduce climate-change causing emissions and holding global temperature rise to 2 degrees C. Although we knew this was coming for quite some time (President Trump announced his intention to withdraw in June, 2017) it doesn’t make it easier to digest. Even if you do choose to ignore the scientific consensus, it’s impossible to overlook the massive financial and human costs that we are already bearing with record-setting wildfires, more frequent hurricanes, and poor air quality.
But there is still a reason to be optimistic, and it’s not just because Joe Biden has committed to rejoin the Paris Agreement on his first day in office if elected. I’m most excited about what’s happening outside of Washington in how the lack of White House to climate change mitigation has galvanized a record number of non-federal actors: cities, counties, companies, philanthropists, and NGOs, to take matters into their own hands.
When America’s Pledge was launched in 2017, it provided a platform for these actors to send a powerful and cohesive message, “We are Still In,” and more importantly is arming them to act on their commitments to drive meaningful climate impact. America’s Pledge analysis shows that ambitious states, cities, businesses, and others can deliver up to a 37% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2030. Many cities are receiving additional support through the American Cities Climate Challenge Renewable Accelerator, a joint effort between Bloomberg Philanthropies, World Resources Institute, and Rocky Mountain Institute to help cities procure renewable energy projects. So far they have helped cities transact over 9.2k MW of renewable energy deals thanks to innovative tools and resources.
Many would expect that the COVID-19 pandemic has stalled or slowed climate initiatives as cities or companies look to channel limited resources into fighting the pandemic. Fortunately the philanthropic community has not slowed down at all and instead has stepped on the accelerator to make catalytic investment in climate and energy. Earlier this week a story in The Atlantic shared the first round of grantees from Jeff Bezos’ $10B Earth Fund. The list reads like a veritable ‘who’s who’ of NGOs with a strong track record of climate and environmental impact. And, according to research by ClimateWorks Foundation covered in the Washington Post, U.S. philanthropic donations to mitigate climate change nearly doubled over the past five years, from $900 to at least $1.6 billion in 2019.
I consider myself to be an optimist—but with over a decade under my belt in climate and energy, I am far from naive. US climate action without Washington may get us to Paris, but with only ten years left to avoid irreversible damage to our planet, it won’t happen fast enough. We all must continue to work in our own unique capacities to call for strong federal leadership from leaders on both sides of the aisle on climate so the next generation has a future worth fighting for. And, for the countless individual cities, counties, states, and countries forging ahead…keep up the good work.