The Paris Climate Agreement, The Auto Industry And Our Health

You're probably wondering what is the Paris Climate Agreement and how does it impact you, more specifically the automotive industry. Well here's one way of looking at this. When one thinks of smog and excessively warm weather during traditional cold months, these are two prime examples of global warming. Global warming can be controlled via government intervention, which leads to businesses and citizens to push for cleaner cities, factories and the like.

As we all know, smog and other environmental issues could also lead to health issues related to asthma, cancer and the like.

So, this is where we circle back around to the Paris Climate Agreement, which was ratified during the fourth quarter of 2016. The agreement was designed to bring all nations to focus on a common cause to combat climate change. This agreement requires all nations to report regularly on their emissions and their implementation efforts. 

According to President Obama, one of the reasons he ran for President was to make sure that the United States does its part to protect the planet for future generations. He realized that this was not  a fight that any one country could take on alone. With China and the United States joining, they were central to this unified agreement, since both countries combined represented 40 percent of global emissions. 

So, with that being the case, here's how the auto industry and related suppliers are doing their part.

• Automakers in the U. S. are doing their part by developing vehicles that do no rely heavily on gasoline. California has the toughest emission standards in the United States. In order for an automaker to be able to sell a car in the state, they must comply with their emission standards. Automakers are developing electric vehicles, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and more fuel efficient vehicles.
• Automakers both import and export their vehicles into countries that are apart of Paris' Climate Agreement, so they must meet the standards required to be able to sell a vehicle.
• Utility companies are moving toward finding alternatives to coal-fired power plants in order to improve greenhouse emissions.
• Many cities are testing electric buses and the like to reduce emissions, as well as enacting measures for car-sharing programs, HOV lanes and the like to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.

Hopefully, this gives you a better understanding of the how the Paris Climate Agreement impacts you, future generations and the world we live in.