A month after the climate change talks during the Paris Conference, the US is getting down to business with Wall Street. The US promised to bring down their carbon emissions and invest trillions of dollars into developing clean energy.
Investors and Financers Are Meeting in NYC to Discuss Cost of Climate Change
These meetings will serve as the test to see if the Paris talks are of any worth. Since the United States peaked their emissions, they are a huge factor in the fight against climate change. The first change that is to be tackled is fossil fuel use, which Al Gore has been pressing for years.
Wall Street is critical to the success or failure of this. In December of 2015, the leaders of 200 countries agreed to limit the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius or above pre-Industrial levels. In order for that to happen, though, the entire world needs to invest at least $12.1 trillion in renewable electricity. This includes solar and winds power, battery storage, and efficient energy within the next 25 years.
The World is Fighting Back Against Global Warming
The countries that participated in the Conference are on track to spend $6.9 in cutting emissions by 2040, which resulted in a gap in investments of $5.2 billion. Bringing in emissions-free vehicles, other fuels, and sustainable agriculture will increase the investment costs.
The US would be the perfect country to help close the gap, but Wall Street has been reluctant. The financial district as a whole isn’t totally on board with climate change or in becoming a part of the change. However, other American bodies have given a vastly different response to the Paris climate summit.
Six major American banks urged the US government to acknowledge the cost of carbon and bring in low-carbon energy. The banks mainly highlight this because not dealing with climate change will eventually drain economic growth.
Will the US Help Fight Climate Change?
Despite all of the mixed responses, the results are just a big gray cloud of vagueness. There’s still no word on whether or not the United States will stay true to its promise that it will help fight climate change. The country is meanwhile pretty invested in the Presidential election, taking place later this year.
