Stick with Paris

Last year, when the leaders of the world’s two largest carbon polluters, China and the United States (in that order), formally ratified the historic Paris climate accord, it signaled substantive movement on a pledge among the international community to reduce greenhouse gases.

The agreement had been decades in the making, but with the election of Donald Trump, the efforts to slow the warming of our world are now at stake. Most signs (his plan to dismantle the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, among others) point to the president pulling the plug on America’s commitment to the nonbinding treaty.

That move could trigger many consequences, including diplomatic fallout from our European allies, China and other nations. Of course, one of the biggest potential repercussions is the derailment of the accord.

As you’ll read in this week’s cover story (“Submerged,” page 18), a new report indicates that sea-level rise due to global warming is greatly outpacing scientists’ previous predictions. An estimated 2 million homes in the United States will be underwater, quite literally, by the end of the century. In California, that includes portions of the famed coastline.

Point is, the international effort to curb global warming is critical to sustaining life on our planet. It’s time to put country over party and stick with Paris.