By Joe Vitale

After the Democrats surrendered at least three seats in the House of Representatives, eight seats in the Senate and three governorships during the midterm elections, it appeared that, on the issue of climate, all hope was lost.Considering that the president championed the issue during his election but quickly pivoted to the economy, healthcare and a series of foreign crises after his election, a Republican majority in Congress was the last thing supporters of climate change policy hoped to see.
That is until last week, when President Barack Obama reached an accord with China on Nov. 12 to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

The plan, of course, is bold. The deal with China calls for the U.S. to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gas by 26 percent by 2025. China agreed to cap its emissions by 2030 — a target toward which the country was likely heading regardless.Given that the two economic powerhouses account for nearly 40 percent of the world’s emissions of greenhouse gases, the accord is a major step. As Secretary of State, John Kerry noted in an oped in The New York Times, a deal with China has the potential to “inject momentum into the global climate negotiations” and relay “an important signal that we must get this agreement done, that we can get it done, and that we will get it done.”

Aside from being another feather in Kerry’s hat, an agreement with China is pivotal for three reasons. The first is that it is yet another example of the president’s refusal to become a lame duck in the White House. While the buzzword was thrown around by cable news networks following midterm elections, the president seems to have missed the memo. Even with a divided and gridlocked Congress, he has already presided over a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to heighten limits on carbon emissions that was quickly followed by an executive order by the White House to create the world’s largest fully protected marine reserve in the central Pacific Ocean. These are just examples of his action on climate change, given word that there may be executive action taken on immigration.

The deal also signals much-needed international cooperation on curbing climate change. An accord shows not only that the two nations are holding themselves responsible for their contributions, but that they are willing to develop long-term plans and take seriously the futures of their people and the planet. American and Chinese leadership surely will not go unnoticed by other nations with growing economies and high rates of greenhouse gas emissions.

The accord is equally important because of its repercussions in Washington. A deal with China is likely to force Republicans in Congress to change their talking points quickly. Of course, it is not as if they have not done so in the past: the party began denying climate change by saying that the science was flawed, and then it quietly transitioned into a phase in which the party considered climate change possible but unrelated to human activity. Most recently, party leaders maintained that if the science is correct and if humans are causing it, the U.S. acting alone would do little to make a dent in the issue. A deal with China is precisely what they did not want to happen.

Some challenges do remain. As expected, the GOP has yet again shown its resilience in vowing to keep any progress on climate change policy from seeing the light of day. Party leaders, for example, are already saying that the deal will slow economic growth at home and exacerbates Obama’s alleged war on coal. They are also trying to explain that China’s odds of reaching its goal are slim to none, making the deal a total waste of time in the first place. With the next chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee slated to be Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a firm denier of climate change, the party will likely do anything it can to undercut environmental policies coming from Washington in the next few years.

But, this should not keep climate change supporters from being hopeful. A deal with China shows American and Chinese responsibility for harmful of greenhouse gases. It also shows that international accords are not only attainable but necessary. If anything, it is a step in the process of taking responsibility for our toll on the environment. As a fitting Chinese proverb would suggest, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. A deal with China is a promising stride.

Joe Vitale is the Managing Editor for The Fordham Ram.