County voices heard at Paris climate summit

Then-King County, Wash. Councilman Larry Phillips (l) and his son, Brett, were delegates to the COP21 climate summit in Paris, France. Photo courtesy of Larry Phillips

In My Opinion

Local, regional and state gov­ernments played a critical role in the United Nations’ Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP21) in Paris, forging — even forcing — a successful conclusion to the negotiations. Known as “sub-nationals” in the international diplomatic community — they were “superstars” at the confer­ence, represented, in part, by 1,000 locally elected officials from across the globe.

As “first responders” to the escalating impacts of weather catastrophes, they continually pressed the point that we can no longer wait for climate solutions to dramatically reduce carbon loading in the atmosphere.

The cost of lives lost and depleted financial resources are readily ap­parent to those who must repeatedly respond on an emergency basis to severe weather events and their af­termaths. Doing nothing, for them, is not an option, and they made that plainly clear to those negotiating the final agreement.

King County, Wash.’s contribu­tion to this effort was well-received: our recently updated Strategic Climate Action Plan demonstrated what comprehensive actions are being taken to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Recognized as among the best local plans devel­oped to date, it and many others set the stage for others to follow and act.

But public policy alone — be it subnational or international — will not be enough to stem the global threat posed by climate change. Businesses and NGOs alike must also take action, and in Paris they showed great urgency by responding with a cascade of commitments that fueled the negotiations.

The private sector, which has much to gain by transitioning to a more cost-effective and resilient low-carbon economy, was headlined in Paris by business giants Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos who launched the multi-billion dollar Breakthrough Energy Coalition which will seed investments in research and devel­opment for affordable and reliable clean energy.

This commitment was bolstered by hundreds of global businesses, from Apple to Xerox, which have pledged to significantly cut carbon emissions from their operations and invest in clean-energy technologies. Notably, Google announced during the Paris negotiations that it will power 100 percent of its global operations with renewable energy, making it the largest such purchase in history by a non-utility.

Locally, more than 250 compa­nies have publicly joined the Wash­ington (state) Business Climate Declaration calling for increased investments in a low-carbon future.

These are not philanthropic ambitions. Rather, these actions are an acknowledgment by our most successful business leaders of the pressing need to transition away from fossil fuels in order to secure our long-term economic prosperity. Put more simply: clean and efficient energy is smart for business.

With the Paris accord providing international consensus on emis­sions limits — which provides a clear signal to the global financial markets to move away from fossil fuels — the private sector has an unprecedented opportunity to increase its investments in clean and efficient energy solutions. More businesses should, and will, seize the moment.

Similarly, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the nonprofit community have an important role in the climate fight by leveraging their unique ability to build coalitions across the public and private sectors. Here, once again, our Northwest leadership and ingenuity was on display in Paris through the participation of the Seattle 2030 District and its parent organization Architecture 2030, which are moving cities toward carbon-neutrality.

Leadership by these organiza­tions, and partners like them, resulted in the creation and launch of the Global Alliance for Building and Construction which, for the first time in history, is establishing an international framework to scale up climate action in the building sector (the built environment is responsible for more than 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions). Already more than 1,300 building-related climate actions have been launched by Alliance partners.

While the Paris agreement on climate is not perfect, it marks the end of the beginning as the world transitions to a low-carbon economy and future. Nearly 200 countries united in a victory for international policy, plans and most importantly, a path forward to reducing their carbon footprints — shifting to renewable energy alternatives, and using energy more efficiently.

As we move forward “post- Paris,” governments, businesses and NGOs must continue to work together, as they did at COP21, with common purpose around shared goals, strategy and action.

Now the truly hard — but not impossible — work begins: driving forward energy innovations, public policy solutions and incentives, and consumer choices to a new economy. That promise for a bet­ter future moving forward from COP21 is the untold story of the Paris agreement: an unprecedented collaboration between local and regional governments, NGOs committed to the task, and, most importantly, commitments from the private sector to invest in smart, clean and efficient energy solutions.

At a time when our politics — both at home and abroad — are increasingly polarized and divisive, it was truly inspiring to see the world establish a mandate for avoiding cataclysmic changes in climate and weather.

Governments must continue to provide the policies and incentives we need to enable transition; busi­nesses must continue to increase their investments in innovation and technology, and NGOs must con­tinue their critical role of advocacy and thought-leadership. But above all, these groups must move forward collaboratively and decisively with the same spirit and resolve that was witnessed in Paris.

The future of the world is at stake, and there is much to do — so let’s get to work!