My view on the Paris Agreement

So the Paris Agreement was according to most news sources a resounding success as all nations around the world agreed to act on climate change.

Granted, the naysayers and pessimists note that it won’t be enough, but what makes me really confident that eventually this will be a success and a turnaround for the climate situation is that it is not a matter of Nations or countries only anymore.

Companies, cities, communities and citizens are increasingly seeing the vast benefits of climate change mitigation. A decade ago, going solar or installing wind turbines did not make a lot of sense from an economic point of view. Saving energy was not as common as today.

But since then, renewable energy sources have seen their prices drop in astonishing proportions. And fossil fuels thus lost their best if not only competitive advantage : cost.  As companies are increasingly pressed for more competitiveness, renewables just make a lot of sense. Plus, corporate sustainability and brand image are other great reasons for them to do the right thing.

Likewise, cities and communities are directly connected to citizens who demand cleaner air, more comfort, less traffic congestion, jobs and so on… Countless cities and regions or States have understood that and are each year promising new housing reforms, more public transportation and bike lanes…

But all this starts with us, the citizens. We have to DEMAND cleaner air, we have to VOTE for Progressists candidates who believe the energy transition is possible, we need to start voting with our wallets as well and BOYCOTT companies that are harming directly our beautiful global Ecosystem.

Image credit : Flickr.