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On Earth day of 2016, 195 countries joined together in Paris to form a pact, an agreement to fight one of the biggest threats to the human race: climate change. For nearly the past century, we have been slowly killing ourselves and the earth because of the masses of greenhouse gases we have been emitting into the atmosphere. Technological advancements over the last 30 years have allowed us to burn more non-renewable resources, such as gas and oil, for various transportation and manufacturing methods. Our selfishness and disregard for our earth hasn’t been without consequences, and we are now getting a taste of our own medicine. The world’s global average temperature has gone up by 1.2°C because of global warming; carbon emissions from vehicles are polluting the air; glaciers and arctic regions are melting rapidly; the sea level is rising. The United Nations is finally addressing the problem we have created, and the Paris Climate Change Agreement is their solution.

 

This agreement states that the countries involved will work together, as well as pursue initiatives in their own countries, to reduce the effects of climate change. This includes their main goal: keeping the Global Average Temperature below 2°C. They also want to limit the increase to 1.5°C.

 

The country who emits the most gases, by a long shot, is China. Accordingly, President Xi Jinping has outlined numerous initiatives that the country plans to execute over the next few years. This includes a massive step back from non-renewable resources, such as coal, and to converting the country into using more renewable energy, such as hydro and nuclear. The goal is to reduce the country’s carbon emissions by 40 to 45% by 2020. China seems to be committed to their word, and has made good progress; they invested $102.9 billion for renewable energy in 2015 and installed half of the world’s new wind power last year. President Jinping estimates that by 2030, China will reach its greenhouse gas peak, the point where the most greenhouse gases will be emitted. The reason for this is because greenhouse gases can’t automatically be shut down, so a peak is a long term projection of a country’s usage; after the peak, the output will steadily decrease. This is a step in the right direction for China, and a necessary one.

 

From the plethora of companies who manufacture their products there, to the millions of cars on the roads and a population of over 1.3 billion, China gets the worst effects of climate change. Pollution from factories and transportation has filled some of China’s most bustling cities with smog, forcing millions of citizens to wear masks. Also, the expansion of factories on agricultural land has caused many food to be poisoned because of the chemicals that factories output into the soil.

 

It is also vital that China remains passionate about this cause and and is a leader for other countries, because of the election of Donald Trump in America. While President Obama was an avid supporter of the agreement, President-Elect Trump has claimed that global warming is “a hoax created by the Chinese”, and has stated that he will “look into” the climate agreement.

 

In the likely possibility that the United States backs out, China, with its advanced improvements and power, will need to step up and be the leader for the rest of the world to follow suit. It may be the only way to keep other countries involved if we want the Paris Climate Change Agreement to last, but more importantly, if we want the earth to survive into the next century.

The clocks are ticking, and the race to beat climate change starts now.