WATERTOWN, S.D. -- Negotiators from around the world will meet in Denmark this December to discuss a global climate agreement. As of now, however, the U.S. hasn't passed legislation to combat the problem and that's something that needs to be corrected.
This December, negotiators from countries around the world will meet in Copenhagen, to hammer out the details of a global climate agreement.
Among the primary concerns are the emission of greenhouse gases. Two nations -- the United States and China -- are responsible for producing about 40 percent of the world's total emissions. So it appears for any agreement to have even a slight chance of success, those two countries would have to be at the forefront of any effort to reduce emissions.
There are those who deny global warming is a problem and others who say if it does exist, then it's a natural phenomena and there's not much we can do about it. But others insist man is the primary culprit in our planet's changing climate.
Of course, if that's the case, then China and the U.S. should be in the forefront of the effort to bring about change. China recently announced steps to reduce its carbon footprint. It included getting 15 percent of its power from nonfossil sources by 2020, planting enough new trees to cover an area the size of Norway and limiting the growth of carbon emissions as a percentage of the country's gross domestic product.
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As one of the world's leading producers of greenhouse gas emissions, it's only logical the U.S. be in the forefront to take steps to reduce them. That's why the Senate should put climate change legislation back on the table and fix the problems created in the House-passed version, so when the December talks come around, we have a plan of action. Since we're part of the problem, it stands to reason we should also be part of the solution.
