Climate Pact… An Act of Defiance?

ObamaBy Tyler Pruett

tyler@southerntorch.com

Last week, leaders from around the world began a summit on the issue of global climate change. The overall goal of the event is to strike an agreement aimed at reducing carbon-based emissions with hopes of reversing the increase in global temperature. President Obama traveled to Paris to attend the summit late last week in order to help negotiate an agreement. One week before, Paris experienced the worst terror attack in France’s history, perpetrated by the Islamic State. Obama referred to the climate summit as an, “act of defiance” against the terrorists. Much of his rhetoric during his trip seems to be more in defiance of logic than the terrorist state.

One day before the horrific attacks, Obama claimed that, “we have contained them.” The following day, people in Paris learned first hand that ISIS was anything but contained. It’s hard to imagine how our commander in chief could have made this assertion when thirteen days earlier a Russian airliner was destroyed, killing all on board, by a terrorist act committed by the Islamic State. The passenger jet and it’s passengers did not originate from ISIS held territory. The attack was carried out more than 700 miles away in Egypt. Even if containment had been achieved, touting this as an achievement is morally reprehensible. Within this “containment area” exists thousands of innocent civilians living daily with public executions, slavery, and starvation. Terms like “humanitarian crisis” and “disaster” were uttered frequently in Paris over the last week, but rarely was anyone referring to the human suffering happening at this very moment. Those attending the summit would explain this as climate change being the larger issue, but with the absence of any shift in strategy after terrorists struck Western Europe, it’s clear that our President and world leaders are more focused on what’s convenient and not what’s necessary.

While it’s a common political tactic to distract from difficult issues, President Obama went one step further while addressing journalist, by making the audacious, almost ludicrous assertion that, “in some ways, climate change is akin to the problem of terrorism and ISIL.” This statement is unbelievable no matter where it is uttered, but it becomes unthinkable when spoken only a few miles away from the site where terrorism claimed the lives of 130 people only a week before. This wasn’t the only instance during the summit that the President seemed to conveniently forget his geographical location and the tragic events of only a week ago. According to Obama, mass shootings, “just don’t happen in other countries” like they do in America. I don’t think I have to explain the problem with that statement.

The purpose of this editorial is not to debate the existence of global climate change, but to debate the priorities of this administration. In decades this issue could be detrimental to our world economy, but currently an existential problem remains in the war torn countries of Syria and Iraq that we don’t have to debate whether it will kill thousands or not. The Islamic State is already responsible for tens of thousands of lives lost along with many more enslaved and displaced. Regardless to what calamities the future may hold, there is no excuse for disregarding an ongoing calamity because it’s politically convenient. While President Obama spends time and resources on reaching an agreement with 150 world leaders, the handful of world powers fighting ISIS can’t reach a common strategy on how to destroy a common enemy. While the President viewed this summit as defiant, this feeling was surely lost on the militants occupying a large territory with no defeat in sight. If confronting human suffering isn’t a priority, perhaps the thriving illegal oil market that the Islamic State uses to fund terrorism and war may be worthy of a summit.