These Cities Risk Disappearing Due to Pulling Out of the Paris Climate Agreement

US politics under President Trump has been a whirlwind, to say the least.

-By Shivani Gonzalez

In the roughly 160 days that Trump has been in power, we have seen the Doomsday Clock tick closer to midnight, gaining momentum for the stripping of abortion rights, and many citizens healthcare being threatened.

While all of these things, and more, have dominated U.S. and global news, what really sent a shock through the world was President Trump announcing that he was going to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Paris Climate Agreement Sign on Eiffel Tower

What is it?

The Paris Climate Agreement is a pact between 175 countries to monitor influences to climate change with the ultimate goals as keeping the global temperature from rising 2 degrees Celsius, adapting to adverse impacts of climate change in a way that does not threaten food production and making financial flows consistent with the path to lower greenhouse gases.

Currently, not counting the US, there are only two countries in the world who have not signed the deal — Syria and Nicaragua. Syria is in the midst of a six-year ongoing civil war which could explain why they are preoccupied and Nicaragua didn’t sign because the thought it not harsh enough on rich countries. Even North Korea is part of this agreement.

Even though there has been an overall consensus that this was the wrong move it is hard to imagine the long-term effects that this is going have.

It is likely that in our lifetimes and our children’s lifetimes we won’t notice the effects of this massive move. But what about our grandkids? And their kids?

The long term effects of this are somewhat unimaginable and that probably explains the decision that Trump made.

President Trump has proven time and time again that he think very much in the moment and that is why he pulled out the Agreement. In terms of US economy and financial flows, being a part of the Paris Agreement did halt some potential wealth.

That is not really an excuse for this move though because the environment is something that is worth preserving long term, even if it means that the US is not living up to the full financial potential that it could without being a part of the agreement.

Because President Trump was not able to look critically at the long term effects of pulling out the Paris Agreement, we looked into it for you.

The Economic Gain Through Trump’s Eyes

Looking at it from a financial perspective first, while short term pulling out the Paris Agreement is going to increase jobs in the US through work in fossil fuels, in the long term this plan is not even beneficial for maintaining jobs. Researchers have predicted that if the US maintains this pattern of disregard for the potential disastrous risks of climate change, between 2016 and 2099 US GDP would be 36% lower.

This means that not being part of the deal in the long-term could quickly demote the US from the position of world superpower.

The Environmental Perspective

Looking more into the actual effects it will have on the environment, this decision will quickly diminish progress that the US has made since 2005 in lowering carbon emissions. Under the changes made by the Obama administration, by 2020 carbon emissions were going to be between 15% and 17% lower than they were in 2005. With this change, it means that it is not likely that they will be less than 10%.

While all these numbers do show major problems that we are going to have it is still hard to conceptualize how these things can actually affect you. So what are examples of the changes that are going to occur when the US contributes to increased global temperature?

Well for one, the intense heat waves and heavy precipitation will continue. Hurricanes will also continue to become stronger and stronger. This means that the erratic weather that we have already experienced for the last couple years will continue and get worst.

The Long Term Effects; Disappearing Cities

Additionally, by mid-century it is estimated that Antartica will be ice free in the summers. While this is a major problem in and of itself, it also means that sea levels will continue to rise more and more. There is currently a list of 14 US cities that are at risk of beginning to disappear by 2050.

This list includes New York, NY; Miami, FL; Boston, MA; New Orleans, LA; Los Angeles, CA and many others.

Outside of the U.S. Mexico City, Venice, Istanbul and Barcelona are also at risk.

Think of the most iconic landmarks in the US — The Empire State Building, the Hollywood Sign, Bourbon Street. These could all be things that our grandchildren only read about in textbooks the same way we read about Pompeii as a thriving society.

Now that I have laid out the scary and devastating facts about the Paris Agreement, it is always important to focus on what we can actually do to help while we still have time.

The good news is (yes there is good news in all of this), that many state governments  in the US have said that regardless of what the national government is doing, i.e. Trump administration is doing, they are going to continue making legislation for their own states under the same guidelines of the Paris Agreement.

Another good thing to keep in mind is the fact that the U.S. will officially pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement the day after Trump’s last day of his first term, meaning that if he does not get re-elected, we could continue to be on the right track.

What Can You Do?

Do you feel passionate about this and want to know what you can personally do? With the US political system it is very easy to feel as if your personal voice has no effect but that is not the case at all. As we learned from the massive protests following Trump’s “Muslim ban”, effects can actually be achieved by showing you care about causes. Google if there are any climate change protests going on around you and go out and join, you never know what is going to be the moment that inspires lawmakers to make changes.

Another way to have your concerns heard is call your state senators. Even if they are not necessarily that interested in the cause itself, they are interested in re-election and so if you make it known to them that this is something that you care about, they might begin to care as well. All the numbers for your local Senator are available for a quick Google search. For example, for New York, New York one of our state senators is Jose M. Serrano and his office number is 212-828-5829.

If the Trump administration has taught us anything, it is that if we feel passionate about something we need to have our voices heard and show what is important to us.

S.G.