Because of the pandemic, many vital issues have been put on the backburner, including environmental issues. Though we are still tackling the hardships of the pandemic, it is important to remember that struggle against climate change is still an urgent matter. With President Joe Biden’s executive order to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, it seems that the U.S. is starting to take steps in the right direction again when it comes to environmental matters.
For anyone who may not know, the Paris Climate Agreement is an international treaty within the United Nations that aims to reduce climate change. The focus of the treaty is to reduce global warming temperatures and to make the world climate neutral by 2050. This treaty is legally binding, so all participating territories are held accountable to follow through with any mandatory components of the agreement.
The Paris Climate Agreement is a great way to ensure that countries are taking at least some action to improve the earth. Unfortunately, in the U.S., environmental policy is not a high priority for many politicians. So, being bound by this agreement is good way to make sure progress is made.
Many people would argue that environmental matters are not that pressing today, or even pre or post-pandemic. Many people claim that there are bigger problems that need to be solved like poverty, education, unemployment, etc. Yes, these are all very important issues, but the presence of these problems does not justify a complete lack of attention and progress to climate change policy. However, this is not to say that other problems should be completely thrown out the window and the sole focus should be on improving the earth.
We as a society need to be multifaceted with our policies and see how different types of policies connect together. For example, funding eco-friendly careers can both improve the environment and stimulate job growth at the same time. Many people think that when it comes to law-making, it has to be one thing or the other, all or nothing, when that is really not true at all or what is most beneficial to society. To put it plainly, environmental policy needs to be made more of a priority because as the earth becomes less uninhabitable, all of humanity’s common problems will just get progressively worse.
