Our Thoughts on the Paris Climate Change Conference

COP21 has now begun. A conference held in Paris, attended by more than 130 world leaders, aims to address climate change.

The facts around climate change are indisputable, accepted by the entire scientific community. In the 1970s scientists created a guideline for politicians and policy makers. 2 ?C is the global temperature rise since the industrial revolution that we do not want to see. 2 ?C is the threshold, beyond which irreversible changes will be made to our climate. 2015 is set to be the hottest year on record; we are getting dangerously close to irreversible change.

We are already seeing the devastating effects: extreme climate, melting ice caps and rising sea levels. Food crops, homes and habitats are being destroyed by tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme floods, forest fires and lengthy droughts. Entire island nations are set to disappear due to rising sea levels.

There is a clear mandate from the public for tough action on climate change. Since Kyoto, and even since Copenhagen, there has been a shift in public attitude to a more aggressive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. As people gathered in cities across the globe to show their want for action, Parisians were not allowed to gather in public spaces.

Paris

It is imperative that these negotiations do not go the same way as the Copenhagen conference. One of the biggest changes since has been the social attitudes in China and the political pressure faced by the Chinese leaders to act on climate change. As the Chinese President sits in Paris, Beijing is suffering the worst smog of the year at 666 micrograms per cubic meter, where 500 is the usually the highest on the scale.

Picture: How Hwee Young

With this mounting pressure on politicians, we believe a diplomatic resolution must be found at these talks, whatever the cost. President Xi lay out, before the talks, his belief that five-year reviews should be implemented to assure that targets are being adhered to. A leaf taken from President Reagan's book: Trust, but Verify.

We at Alpha are relatively optimistic about the outcome of the talks. Countries have already set out their own INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) last year. With a deepening and strengthening of these and a genuine commitment to them the 2 ?C target becomes achievable. The commitments of countries are a vital part of action on climate change however we know governments cannot do this on their own the public must be enabled to make their own decisions to reduce consumption.

The green energy industry is the lynchpin of a sustainable future and distributed energy will play a leading role. With PV deployment individuals can cut their reliance on grid electricity produced from fossil fuels.

Diplomatic resolutions cannot bring about change and it is up to the innovators of technology to really effect change. Alpha Energy Storage Systems give consumers the power to effectively cut their personal carbon footprint in an economical way.

We encourage delegates at the talks to come to a resolution for the sake of future generations and our planet, the only home we've ever known.